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South Africa’s Known Associates, the fast-growing parent company of Johannesburg-based Known Associates Entertainment (KAE) and Cape Town-based Moonlighting Films, is launching into unscripted programming, Variety can reveal. The company has acquired a 60% stake in Zero Gravity, a production outfit founded in 2017 by former Endemol Shine Africa and Trace Studios CEO Sivan Pillay, and will team up with South African media giant Primedia to “relaunch multiple new high-end unscripted formats,” according to Pillay. Though specific titles covered by that agreement have not been finalized, Primedia’s catalog includes hit series “The Masked Singer,” “Deal or No Deal” and “Ready Steady Cook.” Watch Now

Probably the most shocking whistle blower killing to occur in South Africa in recent times was the brutal assassination of Babita Deokoran, mother, family woman and senior manager at the Gauteng Health Department. Her attempts to prevent illicit Covid procurement payments running into the hundreds of millions led to her ambush and death in a hail of bullets as she arrived home after dropping her daughter at school. Shot fatally nine times, she died later in hospital.   In our history as South Africans, we witnessed the atrocities of apartheid police actions against antiapartheid fighters many of whom lost their lives: The system has changed but the tradition of whistleblowing

South African filmmaker John Barker (“Bunny Chow,” “Umbrella Men”) is developing a six-episode, “Last Dance”-style documentary series about the South African national soccer team’s stirring triumph at the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, a landmark moment for a young nation still celebrating its transition to democracy after the end of apartheid.   “Bafana the Boys,” which has already been acquired by South African streaming service eVOD and is currently being circled by global platforms, features interviews with legendary players from the championship squad, such as team captain Neil Tovey and star midfielder Doctor Khumalo. Barker is in talks with icons of the international game, including French players Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry

South Africa thriller Death of a Whistleblower has been compared to Spotlight and Girl with The Dragon Tattoo and will debut at TIFF.   The exclusive trailer for Death of a Whistleblower teases a deeply effective, powerful drama that is rooted in truth and the very real experiences in South Africa and the African diaspora. Coming courtesy of Known Associates Entertainment, Death of a Whistleblower follows no-nonsense journalist Luyanda Masinda, whose life is thrown into chaos when her undercover lover, Stanley, is assassinated in front of her by the very group he’s been investigating. Left in possession of Stanley’s laptop, Luyanda enlists the help of her tech-savvy best friend, Astha, to track down

South African rural community thriller “Snake,” the closing film of the 6th Joburg Film Festival, is a feature that wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for streamer money.   Based on the heart-wrenching 2011 book by Tracey Farren, who also penned the screenplay, a powerless farm girl Stella, played by 9-year-old Lamiyah Barnard, becomes the only one who can stop a smarmy and mysterious interloper who arrives with a flute and dazzles everyone in a rural town, hiding his nefarious intent while going on a killing spree. “Snake” will play on two streamers and was made with pre-license funding from both: eMedia and e.tv’s eVOD in South Africa and Amazon’s

As South Africa marks three decades since its first democratic elections, a historic moment that dismantled the apartheid system and ushered in Black-majority rule, the country is at a crossroads. Inequality is rife. Crippling blackouts have pushed the economy to a tipping point. The ruling African National Congress — the party of Nelson Mandela — is in crisis, at peril of losing nationwide elections this year for the first time since it swept to power.   For many South Africans, the heady promises of that democratic transition have largely been left unfulfilled. It is a moment of reflection and uncertainty, too, for the country’s film and TV industry, which amid

After taking home the Best South African Film accolade at the Durban International Film Festival for his father son road trip comedy Runs in the Family, Giant Films director Ian Gabriel has done it again, this time honoured with the 2024 Best African Film accolade for his film Death of a Whistleblower at the Joburg Film Festival Gala award evening this past Saturday.   “Hollywood’s Variety says: “Ian Gabriel’s topical political thriller Death of a Whistleblower premiered in Toronto, follows an investigative journalist who, with insider help, tries to expose the state capture of a corrupt South African security group fueling warfare in Africa and beyond. The film’s African premiere opened to thunderous applause in Johannesburg and

The nights were dark and stormy for many of the days on the five-week call sheet of “Death of a Whistleblower” but although South African director Ian Gabriel personally detests night shoots, he pushed through since his latest conspiracy thriller about cover-ups and a journalist’s dogged pursuit of the truth simply wouldn’t have felt the same shot in sunshine.   “There’s always been a struggle for the truth in South Africa — in the past, and now,” says Gabriel, who also came up with the story. His taut topical political thriller, produced by Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri for Known Associates Entertainment, will have its African premiere on Feb. 28 at the Joburg Film Festival with

A review by Riley Hlatshwayo Every once in a while, I come across a film or television series that I know will stay with me long after the credits have gone up. I think The Drop is one of those films. Writing your first screenplay or directing your first film is something I can liken to diving into uncharted water—while it’s something to look forward to and revel in, there are nerves to consider and the endlessness of creative possibilities. Unfortunately, this can’t be said for our protagonist, Tom. Picture this: Maboneng, Johannesburg, a vibrant little place where the party never stops. This is the setting for our unassuming buddy

Jonathan Parkinson’s first foray as a film director is a biting, razor edged success. It’s not everyday that you get held hostage at gunpoint while looking for inspiration to write a film script but Parkinson maintains a seamless flow of events as the film unfolds and enhance a grand canvas for the film that it makes you as a viewer to fully immerse yourself into the story as if it was happening right at your feet too.   There aren’t many filmmakers capable of translating their will and vision into the big screen but Parkinson did exactly that with The Drop. As a film fanatic, I’m used to going into