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We’re getting both Julia Anastasopoulos (from Tali’s Diary, Suzelle DIY) and Jack Parow in Prime Video’s first South African original film, the Cape Town-set crime caper comedy called The Shakedown.

The Shakedown follows Justin Diamond (Carl Beukes), a well-respected medical aid broker who gets mixed up in the Cape Town underworld after his mistress threatens to reveal the secret of their affair.

Things get more complicated as Justin, trying to keep up his golden boy image, ends up tangled with dangerous criminals, mistaken identities, and hilarious mix-ups. Teaming up with his black sheep brother, Dovi (Emmanuel Castis), turns into a comedy of errors, with the chaos only growing as Justin scrambles to get his life back on track.

The film is directed and co-written by Ari Kruger, known for his work on the hit web series Suzelle DIY and the multi-award-winning Tali’s Diary series for Showmax. In fact, a lot of those names and faces crop up in this crime comedy it seems.

Besides Beukes and Anastasopoulos, The Shakedown also stars Emmanuel Castis (Warrior, G20), Milton Schorr (Warrior, One Piece), James Borthwick (Hotel), David Isaacs (Joe Barber, Spinners), and a lekker little addition, Saffa rapper Jack Parow along with rising talent Berenice Barbier.

Kruger has previously earned three Best Comedy Director nods at the South African Film & Television Awards for his work on the Tali’s Diary series, while also directing award-winning short films, TV commercials and comedy specials for Nik Rabinowitz and Marc Lottering. The Shakedown will be his feature directorial debut.

Available globally on the streamer from August 8, Variety has been given exclusive access to the film’s Prime Video trailer on YouTube, which is set on private mode. But the director shared the trailer on Instagram, thank goodness.

 

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The Shakedown is produced by Sketchbook Studios, a Cape Town-based production company founded by Kruger and Anastasopoulos. The company announced it was scaling back its investment in Africa and the Middle East, shifting course to focus on “emerging” markets in Europe, as this new original is set to release.

We’ll take what we can get. At least this African outtake looks kiff as ever.

[source:variety]