South African Filmmaker and Youtuber, Dan Mace, has brought it home with MrBeast by winning two trophies at the 8th Annual Shorty Impact Awards in Los Angeles.
Mace, founder of agency JOE and the Chief Creative Officer at Beast Philanthropy, stepped on stage with Darren Margolias, Executive Director at Beast Philanthropy, in Los Angeles to accept two prestigious Shorty Impact Awards.
Their film ‘We Adopted an Orphanage,’ created to showcase the work done by MrBeast and Beast Philanthropy, took home the Global Impact of the Year Award and the Audience Honor Award on the YouTube platform at the 8th Annual Shorty Impact Awards ceremony.
The first video in the series about the Baphumelele orphanage – ‘We Saved an Orphanage’ – aired on the 11th of January 2023 and helped raise R10 million to rebuild the children’s home in Khayelitsha, saving the children from asbestos poisoning and renovating all 13 houses at the orphanage.
This video received more than 17 million views and as it continually grows so do the donations to the upkeep of the orphanage. Seven months later, after changing the lives of the children at the orphanage and its founder, Mama Rosie, the team released a second video – ‘We Adopted an Orphanage’ – to continue raising awareness to ensure the children’s home remained successful and sustainable. The goal was to create collaborations with organisations from around the world to ensure the orphanage received consistent, essential support.
The Global Impact of the Year Award and the Audience Honor Award on the YouTube platform recognises how effortlessly the video captures Beast Philanthropy’s unwavering commitment to positive and sustainable change.
‘The Shorty Impact Awards are dedicated to celebrating purpose-driven work from global brands, agencies and nonprofits that make the world a better place, which makes this recognition even more special,’ said Mace. ‘The film captured the heart of South African culture and the ethos of Beast Philanthropy along with using digital and visual content as a vehicle to make a lasting difference.’
‘I’d never be able to do this without my amazing team of South African creatives at JOE. I’ve worked all over the world, with many highly skilled filmmakers, but I can without a doubt say South Africa has talent like no other, and there needs to be more light shone on the work and I feel like getting international recognition like this is slowly bringing awareness to the many unsung heroes in the creative space in South Africa.’
Mace brings a unique South African flavour to the content developed by JOE for Beast Philanthropy in a collaboration built on shared values and the commitment to purpose-driven work through philanthropy. The JOE team’s hard work, talent and dedication to telling the Beast Philanthropy story and shining a light on important causes has played a significant role in building the brand and winning the awards.
The impact of the videos has been transformative, and the Beast Philanthropy YouTube channel showcases how philanthropic work within the digital realm can make a lasting impact. All the revenue earned through the channel is used to pursue the organisation’s mission.
