Wondering which South African series / movies are worth watching on Showmax this holiday season? Keep on reading to find out.
Rassie – Stream from 16 December on Showmax Pro and 23 December 2022 on Showmax
From the makers of the award-winning Chasing The Sun and Two Sides, Rassie takes us all the way back to the beginning of the journey that Rassie Erasmus took to becoming SA Rugby’s director of rugby.
We see the world through the eyes of young Johan, who grew up in Despatch under apartheid and went on to become a generational talent on the field. Recognised as a leader of men, he changed his career path to become a coach, using methods ahead of his time.
This is an 80-minute adventure into the mind of the controversial man who gave Springbok fans and players a fresh dose of hope – and another World Cup trophy.
Beurtkrag – Stream from 16 December 2022 on Showmax
SAFTA nominees Ivan Botha and DonnaLee Roberts star in Beurtkrag, a romance about Jasper, who doesn’t want to be alone, and Fransie, who is independent and prefers it that way.
Moving in together promises a hopeful new beginning for the pair. When loadshedding strikes on their first night together, they try to make the best of a bad situation, but darkness confronts them with the baggage of the past, forcing them to unpack their shared history.
Botha and Roberts, who are married in real life, are the king and queen of local romcoms, responsible for breakout box office hits Pad Na Jou Hart and Vir Altyd. Botha adapted the script for Beurtkrag alongside director Jozua Malherbe (winner of the 2021 Best Director SAFTA for Griekwastad) from the 2015 Silwerskermfees short film of the same name.
Donkerbos – Binge episodes 1-3 from 13 December, with new episodes every Tuesday on Showmax
When the bodies of six children are found in the backwater forests of Donkerbos, Limpopo, an ostracised detective (multi-award-winner Erica Wessels) must wrestle with her dark past, her family and a distrustful community to catch the killer before another child is taken.
Created by Nico Scheepers (Nêrens, Noord-Kaap) and produced by Nagvlug (Skemerdans, Barakat, Nêrens, Noord-Kaap), Donkerbos is a small-town murder mystery that switches between English, Afrikaans and Venda.
The star-studded cast includes Fleur du Cap winners Sanda Shandu (Skemerdans) and Nicole Holm (Fynskrif), Silwerskerm winners Stian Bam (Racheltjie de Beer), Jacques Bessenger (Fynskrif, Warrior) and Aphiwe Sithole (Poppie Nongena), SAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award winner Thoko Ntshinga (Egoli), and multi-award-winners Leandie Du Randt (Meisies Wat Fluit) and Wilhelm van der Walt (Fynskrif).
Early reviews are glowing, with comparisons being made to Mare of Easttown, True Detective and Scandinavian noir, and with both Sarie and TVplus using the word “masterpiece”.
Vlugtig – Streaming on Showmax now
Vlugtig sees struggling actor Simon Berg (Arno Greeff from Blood & Water and Recipes for Love and Murder) cast in a reimagining of Red Riding Hood by world-renowned theatre director Andreas Vog (Ernst Van Wyk, who also wrote the script). But the rehearsals in an isolated forest cabin alongside his co-star Chantel (Jane de Wet from The Girl from St. Agnes and Griekwastad) push Simon to breaking point as the director’s methods grow increasingly extreme.
Adapted from the short film of the same name that made waves at 2017’s Silwerskermfees, Marinus Gubitz’s directorial feature debut is produced by The Film Factory’s Danie Bester, a SAFTA and Silwerskermfees Award winner and Africa Movie Academy Award nominee for movies like Vir die Voëls, Vir Altyd, Fiela se Kind, Ballade vir ‘n Enkeling, and Vaselinetjie.
The cast includes SAFTA winners Schalk Bezuidenhout (Hotel, Kanarie) and Hannes Brümmer (Elke Skewe Pot, Skin), SAFTA nominees Tobie Cronjé (Binnelanders, Die Spook van Uniondale) and Simoné Pretorius (Hotel, Vir die Voëls), and Altus Theart (Getroud met rugby, Bloedbroers) and Gerald Steyn (Reyka, DAM).
Alles Malan Season 2 – Binge on Showmax now
Family is everything in kykNET’s smash hit family drama Alles Malan, co-created by René van Rooyen (multi-award-winning Oscar entry Toorbos) and her husband Corné van Rooyen (Silwerskerm Best Film winner Vaselintjie).
Veteran actors Albert Maritz and Elsabé Daneel return as Derik and Brenda Malan. As Season 2 opens, their eldest son, Frik (Ivan Zimmerman), is approached by criminal elements looking to use the family business for their schemes. Their other son Nico (Sean-Marco Vorster) and his wife, Lee-Anne (Nicole Fortuin), are expecting a baby.
Nadia Valvekens is back as Freek’s wife, Tessa, with Matheo Olivier and Greteli Fincham as their children.
Lakutshon’ Ilanga – Stream on Showmax from 15 December 2022
Shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, Lakutshon’ Ilanga (aka When the Sun Sets) tells the story of a young nurse (SAFTA nominee Zikhona Bali from Is’Thunzi) in 1985 apartheid South Africa.
She must face her worst fears when she learns that her activist younger brother (AMAA nominee Aphiwe Mfeke from Surviving Gaza) may be in danger when he doesn’t return after school. The short is inspired by actual events.
Written and directed by Phumi Morare, Lakutshon’ Ilanga won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short (Live Action) this year, having taken home the Student Academy Award in 2021, among other honours.
Well, there you have, SA Series and Movies that you watch on Showmax this holiday season. If you don’t have an account yet, sign up HERE.
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