Fashioning Modern Africanism

As Halloween is approaching, Showmax announced a locally produced horror film Gaia will be available for streaming on Showmax as of the 31st October 2022. The breakout South African horror film won director of photography Jorrie van der Walt the 2021 Zeiss Cinematography Award at South by Southwest (SXSW) - widely considered one of the five most prestigious film festivals globally.  Gaia  follows an injured forest ranger on a routine mission (SAFTA nominee Monique Rockman from  Nommer 37 ) who is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists (Silwerskerm winner Carel Nel from  4 Mure  and SAFTA nominee Alex van Dyk from  Die Stropers ). But what starts out as a welcome rescue grows more suspicious as the son and his renegade father reveal a cultish devotion to the forest. When their cabin is attacked by a strange being, it’s clear there is a far greater threat in this unrelenting wilderness.   Set in the Tsitsikamma National Park,  Gaia  won Best Film, Director, Editor, Sound Design and Hair

In the Showmax Original horror series  Pulse , launched on Thursday, 23 June 2022, Thapelo Mokoena plays Errol, a game producer who discovers that survival is no longer just a game when an electromagnetic pulse bomb fries every electrical circuit in his office high-rise – and people’s heads.  Sam Wright caught up with the SAFTA-winning  Trackers  and  Wild At Heart  star to find out more about his role in the freaky show, which was picked   by  The Hollywood Reporter  as one of the 25 buzziest series at this year’s MIPTV, a leading global TV market in Cannes, France. What is your claim to fame? I’m just an individual trying to live a life of purpose. I’m somebody who grew up on a farm, in a small farming town, where everything that was exciting was heard about, read about or seen on TV. All I ever wanted to do was go out and see, go out and touch, and go out and take some. I’m somebody who’s really been adamant about conquering and unveiling those dreams, making them become a reality.