Movie of the Week
AfrikaBurn hosts the last party on Earth
A new dystopian adventure, ‘This Is How the World Ends’, turns a temporary Karoo desert city into the backdrop for a war between humanity and AI, writes JASON BANNIER.
A temporary city built by participants in the Tankwa Karoo becomes the last party on Earth in the South African sci-fi movie This Is How the World Ends.
The dystopian film is screening in Ster-Kinekor cinemas from today (9 October 2026).
Much of the unusual setting comes from AfrikaBurn, an annual gathering where participants create Tankwa Town in the Karoo. The temporary city is filled with art, performances, theme camps and custom-built “mutant vehicles”, with the event focused on participation rather than a conventional festival line-up. AfrikaBurn forms part of the Burning Man Regional Network.
Filmmaker Robert dos Santos attended AfrikaBurn before developing This Is How the World Ends. He returned with a production team in 2024 to shoot a fictional feature during the live gathering, combining professional actors with people participating in the event.
An AfrikaBurn call before filming invited actors, extras, crew members and make-up artists to become involved. Theme camps and mutant vehicles could also form part of scenes. Shooting was scheduled across Cape Town before moving into Tankwa Town during AfrikaBurn.
The resulting story takes place as humanity goes to war with AI-controlled powers known as the Machine States. Conflicting reports leave people unsure whether civilisation faces a temporary crisis or the end of the world.
In the story, Dani Freeman believes the end is coming and heads deep into the desert for a gathering billed as the last party on Earth. Her brother Tom believes the war will pass and is sent to find her and bring her home. Reaching Dani means crossing a world beginning to fall apart around him.
The live desert environment gives the fictional gathering a real foundation. AfrikaBurn later described the production as a mix of actors and volunteer participants, with changing conditions creating challenges that included filming through a Karoo sandstorm without room for conventional retakes.
Josh Kempen (Last King of the Cross) stars alongside Frances Sholto-Douglas (Fatal Seduction, Boy Kills World) and Sean Cameron Michael (Black Sails, Invictus). Dos Santos wrote and directed the 90-minute adventure, with Byron Davis and Suraya Suliman producing.
This Is How the World Ends was released on VHS on 7 June 2026, with the physical release positioned as a response to streaming, downloads and growing use of generative AI in creative work. The filmmakers describe the production as “made by humans, for humans”.
The real and fictional worlds come together again later this month. AfrikaBurn will screen This Is How the World Ends at The Labia Cinema in Cape Town on 28 October as part of the 2026 film festival.
Watch trailer here.
