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Inspired by Tsotsi’s Academy Award win in 2006, there’s a new generation of storytellers creating excellent films that capture the South African experience.
On Showmax, you can catch up on the best of SA entertainment - it’s the first streaming service to bring you the new films that everyone’s been talking about, such as Inxeba: The Wound and Five Fingers for Marseilles, and Showmax is committed to making premier, award-winning local films to a wider audience.
Here are five of the best SA films you should watch now.
Inxeba: The Wound
Winner of 13 awards, Inxeba tells the story of Xolani (Nakhane Touré) who joins other men of his community in the mountains of the Eastern Cape for their initiation ceremony into manhood. However, everything becomes complicated when an initiate from the city discovers his best-kept secret. Beautifully shot and acted, this compelling coming-of-age drama is an award-winning South African cinema gem. Now available to watch only on Showmax.
Awards: Winner of Best Feature Film at Carthage Film Festival 2017; Winner of Best Film and Best Actor for Nakhane Touré at Cinema Jove – Venice International Film Festival 2017; Winner of the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding International Narrative Feature at L.A. Outfest 2017; Winner of the Sutherland Award for Best Feature Competition at the London Film Festival 2017; Winner of the International Competition Grand Jury Prize at the Mumbai Film Festival 2017; Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor for Nakhane Touré at the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2018; Winner of the SAFTA Golden Horn for Best Feature Film, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Actor for Nakhane Touré, Best Supporting Actor for Bongile Mantsai, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Achievement in Scriptwriting at the South African Film and Television Awards; World Cinema Amsterdam Jury Award for Best Film at the World Cinema Amsterdam.
Five Fingers for Marseilles
The Western thriller Five Fingers for Marseilles is a gripping story about a group of young men (the ‘Five Fingers’) who stand up to police oppression in the small town of Marseilles in the Eastern Cape. Tau, one of the Five Fingers, kills two policemen and flees. When he returns 20 years later, he finds the town faces a new threat. The Wall Street Journal suggested this film could be the Western genre’s Black Panther, and Variety called it "almost too entertaining for its own good".
Awards: Winner of Best Film, Best Film in an African Language, Best First Feature Film by a Director; Best Cinematography, Best Production Design at the African Movie Academy Awards 2018
Noem My Skollie is the true story of a prisoner who becomes popular for his gift of storytelling. The film is set on the Cape Flats and Pollsmoor Prison and is based on the life of the film’s scriptwriter, John W Fredericks. A powerful and moving film that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit, this film will resonate with SA viewers.
Awards: Winner of the Platinum Award for Production Design at the International Independent Film Awards 2017; Winner of the SAFTA Golden Horn for Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Supporting Actor – Abduraghmaan Adams, Best Actor – Dann Jaques Mouton at the South African Film and Television Awards
Winner of nine international awards, this film is based on the true story of Krotoa, a bright 11-year-old girl who was removed from her close-knit Khoi tribe and brought to the Dutch East India Company fort to serve Jan van Riebeeck. There she becomes an influential interpreter but struggles to find her place as she straddles the two worlds between the Khoi and the settlers.
Awards: Winner of the Award of Excellence for Feature Film at the Accolade Competition 2017; Winner of the Best of Show for Foreign Feature Film Drama at the Depth of Field International Film Festival Competition 2017; Winner of Best Film at the Harlem International Film Festival 2017; Winner of the Best of Show for Best Feature Film at the IndieFEST Film Awards 2017
Vaselinetjie
Vaselinetjie is the story of Helena “Vaselinetjie” Bosman, a white girl who was raised by her loving coloured grandparents in a rural village. When Child Welfare finds out that she is not their biological grandchild, they remove her from their care and send her to an orphanage in Johannesburg. There, she’s thrust into a world of uncertainty where she must learn to fend for herself. Vaselinetjie succeeds in telling a compelling story of a girl’s journey to self-discovery.
Awards: Winner of Best Film at the Silwerskerm Festival 2017
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This post is sponsored by Showmax and produced by Brandstudio24 for Channel24.
