Personally, I am super down with the local content being created these days.
Tali’s Wedding Diary has won many people over, including those you would initially assume would be the ones to turn up their noses at the mere thought.
Riding that wave, Showmax has announced that this February, subscribers will be able to enjoy a wealth of local content spanning many genres.
Remember, more support shown for local content will mean more investment into creating it.
Here’s a taste of what’s to come:
Pretville (due 08/02)
Named Afrikaans film of the year at the Huisgenoot Tempo Awards, Pretville is a 1950-set musical love story from the team that brought you the record-breaking box office hit Liefling, Die Movie. The film won SAFTAs for Best Production Design (Bathoni Robinson) and Best Make-up (Charlie Runge, Lee-Anne Nourse).
Think along the lines of an Afrikaans Grease:
A Small Town Called Descent (due 08/02)
After a young Zimbabwean man is murdered in South Africa, three Scorpions arrive at a small town called Descent to investigate. Set against the backdrop of the 2008 xenophobic attacks, this is the debut film of award-winning South African director Jahmil XT Qubeka (Of Good Report) and stars the likes of SAFTA winners Vusi Kunene (IsiBaya, Soul City), Hlubi Mboya (Dora’s Peace) and Fana Mokoena (The Lab).
It won Best Director at the Pan African Film Festival, and Best Visual Effects at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.
The Borrowers (due 08/02)
The tiny borrowers live beneath the floorboards in harmony with humans, until an evil lawyer takes over the house. Well, he never reckoned on the tiny people fighting back. Starring Golden Globe nominee Stephen Fry (Bones), BAFTA nominees Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) and Robert Sheehan (Misfits), and Emmy nominee Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe), The Borrowers was shot in South Africa at Cape Town Film Studios.
Stephen Fry – what’s not to love?
The Forgotten Kingdom (due 12/02)
Atang (Zenzo Ngqobe) returns to a mountain village in Lesotho to bury his father. Expecting to return to the city quickly, he instead befriends an orphan herd-boy, is stirred by memories of his youth, and falls for a childhood friend, Dineo (Nozipho Nkelemba). Winner of 13 international awards, including Best Cinematography, Sound and Child Actor (Lebohang Ntsane) at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.
This one is being widely acclaimed and should tug on the heartstrings:
Die Ontwaking (due 19/02)
Top South African production designer Johnny Breedt (Chronicle,Eye in the Sky, Hotel Rwanda) makes his directorial debut with this dark adaptation of Chris Carsten’s acclaimed novel about a serial killer (Gys de Villiers) who collects tattoos. Channel24 hailed it as “a total game-changer for the Afrikaans movie industry… Will have you at the edge of your seat at every turn.”
Game changer is always a good place to start:
Jou Show S8-10 (due 22/02)
Funnyman Emo Adams is back to host this repeat SAFTA nominee for SA’s favourite talk show, bringing with him all the fun and games, not to mention fantastic guests and spellbinding performances.
Show jou ma Jou Show, ek se.
So that’s what people are watching on a Saturday night. Been wondering.
If you’re keen to dip your toes into the water, Showmax is where it’s all at. Like, all of the above.
For a single monthly fee of just R99, get all access to an all-you-can-binge buffet that is a massive online catalogue of TV shows, movies, kids’ shows and documentaries.
[You do know Showmax is actually FREE if you already have DStv, right? Just head over here and add it your subscription.]
And there are no ads. Hallelujah.
You can also cancel anytime, although who would want to when the app allows you to stream on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, media players and gaming consoles.
And get this: you can manage your data consumption with their bandwidth capping feature and, if you only have Internet access at work, download up to 25 shows on your smartphone or tablet to watch later.
Let the binge begin by popping over here to sign up now.
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