Compiled by : Ayanda Sithebe
Our highly accredited South African films have found a base that’s easily accessible to audiences locally and internationally, Netflix! The platform continues to grow the local library of South African films, dating back to old school favourites and new gems.
Below are our top 5 film recommendations by Actor Spaces, for performance references and overall beautiful story telling.
1.TSOTSI
A South African classic, 2005 crime drama film written and directed by Gavin Hood and produced by Peter Fudakowski. It is an adaptation of the novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard and is a South African/UK co-production. Set in the Alexandra slum in Johannesburg, South Africa, it stars Presley Chweneyagae as David/Tsotsi (Tsotsitaal name for “criminal”), a young street thug who steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat. It also features Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Jerry Mofokeng, and Rapulana Seiphemo in supporting roles.
2. I AM ALL GIRLS
I Am All Girls is a 2021 South African strong, thought provoking mystery thriller film directed by Donovan Marsh, written by Wayne Fitzjohn and Marcell Greeff. Lead by two powerful leads, Hlubi Mboya-Arnold (Ntombizonke) and Erica Wessels (Jodie Snyman). The film follows a relentless detective who finds common ground with a killer systematically targeting the perpetrators running a powerful child-trafficking ring.
Cast: Hlubi Mboya, Erica Wessels Leshego Molokwane, Nomvelo Makhanya,and Deon Lotz
3. THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
The Forgotten Kingdom is a 2013 American-South African-Lesotho drama film written and directed by Andrew Mudge. Based on a young man Atang (Zenzo Ngqobe) who travels to his ancestral land to bury his estranged father. He is drawn to the mystical beauty and hardships of the land, along with the people he had forgotten.
Cast: Zenzo Ngqobe, Nozipho Nkelemba, Jerry Mofokeng, Lebohang Ntsane, Moshoeshoe Chabeli, Lillian Dube, and Jerry Phele
4. STILL BORN
A yellowbone production written and directed by the award winning Jahmil X.T. Qubeka. Thousands of years in the future, a laborer whose job is to recover artifacts of the past tries to free herself from a dystopian caste system. Human beings are a thing of the past in this dark future. But a flicker of humanity refuses to die.
Cast: Mothusi Magano, Faniswa Yisa, Mandisa Nduna, Harry Imoru, Dumisani Nkabinde, Khulu Skenjana, Chuma Sopotela, Anele Matoti, Asanda Khathi
5.Kalushi
Kalushi is a 2016 South African film about Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, a nineteen-year-old hawker from the streets of Mamelodi, a ghetto township outside Pretoria in South Africa. He was born in Pretoria on 10 July in 1956, the second son of Martha Mahlangu. His father left him in 1962, and from then on only saw him infrequently. His mother was a domestic worker and took sole responsibility for his upbringing. The film is based on a true story.
Cast: Thabo Rametsi, Thabo Malema, Welile Nzuza, Jafta Mamabolo and Louw Venter
