We follow up last month’s list with another set of drops for the month of April. There was a bit of a stir last month when Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana asked the courts to stop the documentary series TThabo Bester shelf from viewing on Showmax. Their reason was that doing so would interfere with the judicial process, as some of the participants were serving as witnesses in their case. The streaming company argued that the content of the documentary series was already in the public domain and that the representatives’ requests amounted to a violation of the public’s right to information. The presiding judge stated that there was “no basis” for the complainants’ allegations and ruled in favor of Showmax.
Showmax has was also revealed that her teen soap opera, Younginsa Tshedza Pictures production set in a fictional school called Olifantsfontein High, has been renewed for a second season. Youngins Starring Lebohang Lephatsoana as Tumelo, Toka Mtabane as Khaya and Thabiso Ramotshela as Mahlatse. Connie Ferguson also stated that Netflix is ββoriginal Kings of Joburg has also been renewed and will go into production for a second season. Ferguson also appears in the Mandla Dube-directed Netflix hit, Heart of the Hunter, where she plays the role of Molebogeng Mokwena. The spy thriller, based on the novel of the same name by author Deon Meyer, was the most popular worldwide for the week of March 25 to March 31.
Here’s what to watch in South Africa this month.
“The Heart of the Hunter”
Heart of the Hunter is a spy thriller, a love story and a story about backstabbing and political meddling in public institutions. It is also an adventure, a portal down memory lane and an introspection and inspection of the effects of exile on the family unit. Director Mandla Dube, who also has a strong background in film and is a scholar of history, transforms novelist Deon Mayer’s work into a grand undertaking that translates to the screen the recurring themes in the author’s work β Cape Town, the Karoo, etc. etc. Front. Dub spoke to Okay Africa about what he calls “digital melanin cinematography,” stating, “There’s a special sauce where the combination of the lenses, along with the camera sensor, and the makeup that’s done on the actors and actresses is edited to a certain [way] to set standards for how we photograph African melanin skin tones. We were very intentional. These were special lenses brought over from France, the first of their kind. We brought them in specifically for this project.” Heart of the Hunter stars an impressive cast including Bonko Khoza, Masasa Mbangeni, Connie Ferguson and Tim Theron, and is currently streaming on Netflix.
“Real Estate Sisters”
Producers and writers Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt and Zoe Ramushu have told at length about the struggles to find a strong, black woman who leads Sisters Real Estate, Netflix’s South African comedy is set to premiere on the country’s Independence Day, April 27, which is also two days before the general election. Their work has finally paid off, and if its reception at the recently held Joburg Film Festival anything to pass, will be warmly received when it goes live. The film stars Galaletsang Koffman (The River, Thula’s Vine) who plays Lerato Maseko and Leera Mthethwa, who plays Malebo’s sister. The premise is that they’ve been flipping properties in the township of Atteridgeville for a while, and intend to move it up a few notches by teasing the sand in the upmarket suburb of Waterkloof. Their fortunes turn when Lerato meets Stone Segale (played by Lerato Maketha), who assigns her to sell his property. A series of comedic hits ensue, but the discovery of a dead man in a cellar while showing the property to prospective buyers reveals a dark side to the whole deal. Sisters Real Estate Also featuring are Sibongile Nojila, Marcus Mabusela, Sammy Fever and Jerry Chirindza.
“Soweto Blaze”
“A petty pot dealer’s hopes for a better life are dashed when his friends involve him in a strange kidnapping scheme,” reads the logline for Soweto Blaze, will premiere on Netflix on April 20. The film stars Matli Mohapeloa, Dimpho More and Nyeleti Khoza. In an exclusive chat with Okay Africa, writer, director, and editor Brad Katzen stated that he was aiming for a world that would not be based on a single character, but rather a cacophony of figures that would contribute their part to the larger story. βMy main thrust was to create a set of characters that could build off of each other in a really intense way. This is not a story meant to be realistic […] this is a bit more like a comic book,β he says. The trailer features a series of hilarious interactions between a rogue and the world of clientele he interacts with. Everything goes south when a kidnapping plan with his cronies ends up rubbing a respected hood kingpin the wrong way. Soweto Blaze was one of six films selected from around two hundred submissions following a call for proposals for the NFVF/Netflix micro-budget film project.
“The Winning Ticket”
This Showmax original centers around a family who have decided that maximum surplus is the only way to live after winning the lottery jackpot. The film co-stars Lerato Makhetha (A Safe Bet, Real Estate Sisters) and Simphiwe Ngema (Muvhango). The film is a Kerry Media Productions film directed by Star Mphahlele, which won the African Rising Star Award at last year’s Joburg Film Festival. The trailer depicts the immediate transformation the family of four undergoes after winning. They move from the township to an upscale neighborhood, change schools, and go on an expensive vacation to Cape Town. The cracks are starting to show in the little things. they have not yet mastered the language and manners of the rich and the wealthy. These facts raise the question: Is it all worth it? The winning ticket premieres on April 12.
‘What did you dream about?’
Those around Johannesburg can catch a special screening of writer-director Karabo Lediga’s short film what did you dream, based in South Africa in 1990 about a young girl named Boipelo who can’t dream. “Is her inability to dream because of anxiety about being the first in her family to attend a multi-racial school, or because her grandfather is dying of cancer in a dark bedroom nearby?” Lediga wonders. Audiences can get answers to these questions and more at the University of Johannesburg’s Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre. RSVP enabled this link.
From your website articles
Related articles around the web