After another outstanding year for authentic African content, we’re looking forward to bringing loads of exciting new shows and films to our vast library in 2022!
Premiering this year, Blood Psalms will be VOD service Showmax’s very first fantasy epic which is co-produced by CANAL+. Set 11 000 years ago in Africa, the story follows a young princess and her rise to power as she navigates her people through countless wars, curses, and the wrath of the gods. The show was created by Layla Swart and Jahmil XT Qubeka from Yellowbone Entertainment, the brilliant minds behind South Africa’s multi-award-winning 2020 Oscar entry, Knuckle City. The cast includes an astounding eight SAFTA winners, including Bongile Mantsai (Knuckle City), Hamilton Dhlamini (Five Fingers for Marseilles), Hlubi Mboya (Isidingo), Mothusi Magano (Tsotsi, Hotel Rwanda), Siv Ngesi (Knuckle City, Still Breathing), Zolisa Xaluva (Gomora, Knuckle City), and many more.
Desert Rose is an upcoming family thriller that is set to arrive on Showmax in July this year. The Greyling siblings reunite at their family home after one of them goes back on a promise made to settle their father’s debt, with the looming threat of a ruthless debt collector in mind. Now they must either find a way to scrape together the money or find their estranged father. The show will be the second Showmax Original from Quizzical Pictures (The Girl from St. Agnes, Reyka) with Cannes Palme d'Or nominee Rohan Dickson (Reyka, Husk) and Cindy Lee (The Girl from St. Agnes) as the showrunner and director respectively.
We’re also excited to announce that Glasshouse, which premiered at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada last year, is the first of three dystopian films from Local Motion Pictures, in association with Crave Pictures. Kelsey Egan, who is best known for her writing credits on Trackers, is set to direct the trio of films while Greig Buckle (line producer for the 2012 #1 US box office hit, Chronicle) will produce the slate of films.
We’ve also recently added two brand new romantic comedies, Troukoors and Entangled, to our extensive library. Both centre around a young woman trying to navigate the complexities of life and modern romance, both perfectly balancing elements of comedy, romance, and drama.
A number of hit telenovelas have returned with new seasons which are now available on our official webpage. This includes the International Emmy-nominated and multi-award-winning show, The River, as well as Gomora (2021 SAFTA winner for Most Popular Soap) and Legacy, which won six SAFTA awards at last year’s ceremony including Best Telenovela and Best Supporting Actress.
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