‘Finding Optel’ tells SA story of loss and discovery

The official trailer for Finding Optel delivers a first look at the new South African film. The drama, co-directed by 25-year-old Mikayla Joy Brown and her 30-year-old brother Jesse Brown, will stream on Showmax from 24 October 2025.

The story follows teenager Claire Abrahams who runs a lost and found service where she locates anything and everything that has been misplaced. When the community dog Optel goes missing, Claire must confront her brother’s painful disappearance to solve her biggest case yet.

Mikayla Joy stars as Claire, supported by a cast that includes Oscar Petersen as her father John and Zenobia Kloppers as Aunty Doreen. The ensemble features Rodney ‘Rotas’ Goliath and Sherman Pharo (both Arendsvlei), Maurice Carpede and Euodia Samson (both Summertide), Elton Landrew (Spinners, Carissa), and Omar Adams (Barakat, The Umbrella Men).

Finding Optel debuted at the kykNET Silwerskerm Festival in August, where it received a nomination for Paul Guyeu’s cinematography, and the Best Production Design award for Sumaya Wicomb. The film is produced by Blended Films, who were behind the quadruple 2024 Silwerskerm winner Hier.Na. The movie will premiere internationally at the BFI London Film Festival on 18 October.

Showmax interview: Zenobia Kloppers on ‘Finding Optel’

“It’s a beautiful film with beautiful people,” Kloppers told Showmax. “There are so many fun moments. It’s light but it deals with serious things as well – but that is the best kind of comedy.”

“It is also a truly Capetonian film that depicts so-called ‘Cape Coloured’ culture but not through the lens of gangsterism. It’s just the story of a teenage girl looking for a missing dog. Through looking for this dog, she finds answers herself and she finds peace about things that have happened. It’s wonderful to show that there’s more to our people than just gangsterism.”

Kloppers provided the following answers to Showmax:

How does Aunty Doreen fit into the story?

She’s the aunty in the community who looks after everyone and makes sure that they are all okay. She is a leader in the community and specifically with Claire, the lead character, she is a mother figure to her. She’s a mother, aunty, ouma, all-in-one kind of thing. 

What made you want to be part of Finding Optel?

Quanita Adams, one of the executive producers, is a friend of mine. We have known each other since drama school. Quanita is awesome and I have been wanting to work with her on something. 

When she called, I would have said yes to anything, even if the character was a tree. But when I read the character of Doreen, I was really happy because she is so multifaceted. She leans into the whole chatterbox persona when she’s with her friends, and then she is quite serious when she is with Claire and John. So, she slots into whatever role is required of her.

Interestingly, the character reminded me a bit of my grandmother. Because you always take from what you know, and I always sit with a script and develop my character from that. I took a lot of inspiration from my gran, my mom’s mom. She was a very prudent, proper person but she was also the sort of person who looked after everybody. I have this picture of her at her place: she’s got a little green T-shirt on and she’s just kind of leaning over the vibracrete wall and chatting. She was the type of woman who knew all the neighbours. 

What makes Aunty Doreen different from your other roles?

I’m often asked to play people from the Northern Cape so it’s nice to just play a Cape Town woman. And also in English! I rarely get to play characters who speak English.

What was your favourite scene to film? Please tell me it was the samoosa fight scene?

Actually, it was the scene where Aunty Doreen and her two friends from the community take a sunrise walk. It was really cold that morning and we had to be up early for the sunrise to come up. That was so fun to film because we were just walking fast, and the camera guy’s walking backwards, hoping he does not fall on his back, and then Maurice, one of the other actors, jumps out and he talks to us and he is also walking backwards, hoping he doesn’t land on his butt. So that was funny. And, of course, Euodia Samson is in that scene and she is hilarious. 

What was it like working with Mikayla Joy, who was recently featured in the BFI London Film Festival trailer, alongside Oscar winners like Emma Stone, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts?

What a lovely actress; you wouldn’t think this is her first big role. She’s so natural and she plays that age very well, with so much innocence and absolute joy that it’s beautiful to see. What a talent!

What does international exposure mean for you, having starred in The Wheel of Time and with Finding Optel heading to a major film festival?

It’s incredibly humbling. As an actor, you pour so much of yourself into each project without ever really knowing how far it will travel or whose hearts it might reach. To be part of The Wheel of Time earlier this year and now to see Finding Optel recognised on such a prestigious international stage, it feels like a reminder that our stories here in South Africa are not small – they have a place in the world.

For me, it’s also deeply personal. Every opportunity, whether on a global fantasy series or in a film rooted in our own soil, carries the responsibility of representation. International exposure means that our voices, our histories and our imaginations are being seen and heard.