South African Filmmaking

Interviews with South African Filmmakers and Screenwriters

From Page To Screen / 2023 Film Releases / Latest Films

The Art Of Writing and Making Films

Scroll down for list of SOUTH AFRICAN FILMS

DIE ONDERONSIE ([The Quarrel]

When five ex band-mates come together for their annual reunion, a dead body stirs up suspicion and violence among the friends. With tjommies like these, who needs enemies? 

The debut feature film from multi-award winner Philip Nolte (2023 SAFTA winner Sex in Afrikaans, Silwerskerm award winner Vossie Vergas Homself), the dark comedy co-stars SAFTA nominee Simoné Pretorius (Hotel), Binnelanders stars Pietie Beyers and Lindsey Cele, and Getroud Met Rugby stars Adrian Steyn and former Mister World South Africa Sean van Noordwyk. Also look out for 2023 Royalty Soapie Awards nominee Tsholofelo Matshaba (Kedibone in The River) as Detective Mahlangu and David James (Colonel Koobus Venter in District 9) as Thys. Die Onderonsie is written by rising star Morné Strydom, who also wrote and directed the quirky short film Twintig Tone in ‘n Hangkas, which can also be viewed on Showmax.  Watch Onderonsie on SHOWMAX from 1 Dec.

HANS STEEK DIE RUBICON OOR – The South African film centers on Hans Kraaienburg, a 90-year-old man whose life is turned upside down when he is forced to move to an old age home. Based on the former journalist-turned-author Rudie van Rensburg’s best seller, it is adapted by filmmaker couple Corné (director) and Rene van Rooyen (screenwriter), following their success of Vaselinetjie, Toorbos, as well as the popular drama series Alles Malan. The acting legends in the family comedy include Pierre van Pletzen, Tobie Cronjé, June van Merch, Sandra Prinsloo and Nicola Hanekom. In Cinemas / Read more

The Kandasamys are back in Kandasamys: The Baby and there’s a new addition to the family legacy! In blissful Mauritius, Jodi (Mishqah Parthiephal) and Prishen (Madhushan Singh) are preparing to welcome their bundle of joy, whilst dealing with the interference of iconic mom and soon-to-be grandmother duo of Jennifer (Jailoshini Naidoo) and Shanti (Maeshni Naicker). It’s all lullabies and nursery rhymes until drama ensues with the mom squad,  who join forces, and have brow-raising ideas on how to welcome and raise the new baby. Now on Netflix

See: Keeping Up With The Kandasamys / Kandasamys The Wedding

Interviews with South African Filmmakers and Screenwriters

Latest and Upcoming Films

Interviews with South African Filmmakers & Screenwriters

“At the heart of our vision for Luma Animation and for Headspace, is the notion that everyone deserves to be the hero of their own story, not forgetting that, ultimately, we rely on the support of friends and collaborators to triumph,” Paul Meyer and Gerhard Painter, who directed this vibrant South African CGI Sci-Fi action-adventure from a screenplay they co-wrote with Daniel Buckland and Ronald Henry. Now in cinemas. Read more

Writer-producer Bruce Retief with director King Shaft during the filming of 1960.

1960 was a passion project for SAFTA-winning and Annie Award-nominated composer Bruce Retief (Freedom Road, Khumba, Zambezia), who drew on the spirit of the greats of Sophiatown for the score and wrote and produced the film alongside Khaya Maseko.

When the remains of an apartheid-era policeman are discovered 60 years after he went missing, Lindi, a retired jazz singer, revisits her past to help with the investigation. But how much does she know, and what is she holding back?

Zandile Madliwa (Gwyneth in The Kissing Booth movies) stars as the young Lindi, while Ivy Nkutha (Generations, Faith’s Corner) plays the older Lindi, who tells her story to Detective Kuda Maseko (Sisa Hewana from Isidingo) in the modern-day timeline.  Now on Showmax. Read more

In a world where darkness tries to dim her light, a teenager rises against all odds by taking a bold step that changes her life forever in Dark Beauty. The film is directed by screenwriter Germain Atabe Ayum, who also wrote and directed Mzamo, a 2020 feature film now airing on Mnet – DStv, and received a silver award from International Independent Film Festival, USA, in 2020. Dark Beauty was also selected by Silicon Valley African Film Festival in California, for best feature film in 2022, and nominated by Sotambe International Film Festival for best director in 2022. Now showing in cinemas.

Director-writer-producer Uga Carlini changed lives in a profound way with the poignant documentary Alison and, her inspirational and life-affirming film Angeliena.

Watch Alison on showmax.com

Watch Angeliena on Netflix.

In Horisonne Melissa, a psychologist who learns that her controlling ex-lover, Melchior van Staden (Chameleon), has set up Horisonne, a mindfulness retreat where he seems to be brainwashing young men and women. Even worse, her estranged 18-year-old daughter, Adri, is now the cult leader’s right-hand woman. Going to the retreat herself, Melissa risks her life to try to save her daughter from Melchior’s power. Directed by SAFTA winner André Velts (Die Pro, Raaiselkind, Vergeet My Nie), Horisonne is now streaming on Showmax here. 

“The Honeymoon unpacks the story of friendship and self discovery,” says writer-director Bianca Isaac, talented and award-winning Producer taking over television with acclaimed drama series Umlilo, Swartwater, Kruispad and Getroud Met Rugby. ” This story does not revolve around getting the guy back or seeking his approval. This love story represents a strong female friendship – something that can be hard to maintain in a world that often; plays women up against each other, and has unrealistic expectations of women being
perfect all the time.” Read more

Releasing worldwide on Amazon Prime

In Expiry Date, Musa (Mbulelo Katise) is heartbroken when his proposal is rejected. His younger brother, who doesn’t believe in love, talks him into playing Expiry Date – a game where they date multiple women, with set break-up times. When Musa falls in love, he has to choose between continuing the game or getting into a serious relationship. But after he chooses love, the game is revealed, and all trust is lost. Can he regain her trust and win her back? Set in Maboneng, the film is directed by SAFTA winner Sihle Hlope (Lindela Under Lockdown),and stars Ishmael Songo (Mpande Zulu in The Wife), SAFTA nominees Mapula Mafole (Unmarried, Rhythm City) and Winnie Ntshaba (Generations), and Ntando Duma (The Queen).   Now on Showmax.

The new teen drama Promises showcases the extraordinary singing and dancing talents of its young cast as they explore what it is to be young and innocent. In the tradition of Raise Your Voice and High School Musical, Promises is a celebration of the highs and lows, joys and sorrows, special moments and hard-learned lessons experienced by teenagers. It shows how, with determination and the support of others, anyone can triumph over the trials and tribulations of these difficult years. Directed by Michael Kolbe from an original script by Byron John Davis (King of Hearts – The Chris Barnard Story). Now available on Prime Video.

Interviews with South African Filmmakers and Screenwriters

‘The Recce is a film that defies genre, it’s a personal film about survival, love, duty and sacrifice,” says writer-director writer-director Johannes Ferdinand van Zyl. It’s one of the first South African films in decades to explore issues regarding not only the Border War, but also the pain and suffering families had to endure during and after the conflict that lasted almost 20 years. Read more / Watch on Showmax

SA Films: Listed Alphabetically

In The Umbrella Men a ragtag bunch of musicians are forced to rob a bank during the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival in the hope they will save their iconic, but in-debt nightclub in the Bo Kaap. Directed by John Barker from a screenplay by John Barker, Lev David and Philip Roberts. Stars Abduragman Adams Omar Adams Irshaad Ally. watch it on EVOD / Trailer

Pou (Peacock) is a modern South African Afrikaans gothic horror following the psychosexual journey of a young woman into the dark recesses of the Afrikaner psyche and its compromised past. Anna Pohl has grown up in an institutionalized space: a pure, puritanical, Calvinist organisation known as The Foundation. When she transgresses the strict moral code she is sent away to care for one of the Foundation’s founding members, Sarel Cilliers, an Apartheid-era theologian, now ailing on his isolated farm.   The farm is riddled with ghosts of the past, both seen and unseen, and with nowhere to run, Anna is totally at the mercy of the strange, dark forces at play.   Directed by Jaco Minnaar from a screenplay by Minnaar and David Cornwell. With Tarryn Wyngaard and Johan Botha. Available on Prime Video. Trailer.

Triggerfish’s third animated feature, Seal Team, tells the story of Quinn, a seal who spends his days relaxing in the sun, splashing in the beautiful waters off the coast of Cape Town, and swimming for his life from Great White Sharks. When he decides it’s time for the food chain to bite back, Quinn recruits a ragtag team of like-minded seals brave, stupid, and crazy enough to try and teach those sharks a lesson. It marks the feature film debut of South African writer-director Greig Cameron, working from a story by Wayne Thornley (Adventures in Zambezia) and Brian and Jason Cleveland.   Greig describes Seal Team as “a love letter to the silly, over-the-top 80s and 90s action movies that I really wanted to watch when I was a kid but had to sneak into.” Trailer / Available on Netflix.