WireCar Grand Prix fires up Philipstown

In the heart of the South African Karoo, an unusual racing competition sees engines roar with imagination. The annual Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix follows children running more than three kilometres while pushing handmade wire cars, known colloquially across the country as a draadkar.

A moving documentary about the tradition, The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix, is streaming on Prime Video. The 2026 race kicks off at Philipstown’s Greenstreet at 16:00 tomorrow (12 September 2026).

The film carries emotional weight through a powerful score, composed by Pressure Cooker Studios. The team says they started off the creative process by listening to the unique sounds and rhythms the cars make during a race.

The Cape Town studio then used wire, scrap metal and other materials to build eight of their own instruments. These included a traditional San musical bow recreated from tin cans and wire, as well as an instrument made by stretching wire across a massive sheet of metal, which is played with a bow.

“They’re imperfect and unpredictable, just like the cars, and just like us,” says Pressure Cooker Studios founder and CEO James Matthes, who served as music director on the project. “As humans, our flaws and imperfections are what make us interesting and unique. We tried to keep that in mind while scoring The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix. I don’t think in terms of good or bad sound; it’s more about how emotive something is, and whether it feels right for the project.”

The documentary depicts a story of dreams and perseverance. The beginning scenes reimagine the race through a CGI sequence of draadkar-inspired vehicles lined up and ready to compete. The sequence captures how the children imagine the race before they take to the road.

To capture the world as the children see it, the production combined GPS race tracking with a digital twin of Philipstown to recreate the race in CGI. Alex Jacques, an iconic Formula 1 official commentator, voices over the action as if it were a professional Grand Prix.

“The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix has given these kids purpose and a sense that if they put their minds to something, they can realise their dreams,” says James. “We spent a lot of time trying to understand their stories and to find ways to represent their imagination. We needed a sound that reminded people that hope is still possible.

“The score needed a human engine, and there’s nothing that connects you to that sense of humanity better than a voice.”

This was delivered by Muneyi, a former Afropunk Battle of the Bands winner and Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient.

“He comes from Tshilapfene, a small village outside of Thohoyandou, so when we started speaking about Philipstown, it was like he was speaking about home,” says James. “His voice really grounded everything and tied it all together.”

South African Hip Hop Awards winner YoungstaCPT also features on one track.

“By building and recording our own instruments, with their built-in buzz and unusual resonances, we created a sonic world that feels specific to this documentary,” says James. “As soon as you hear this score, you know it’s The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix.”

Directed by Ward, the 75-minute feature won the Documentary Storytelling category at the Webby Awards, impact awards from Brand Storytelling (Sundance) and Tribeca X, as well as accolades at Cannes Lions, the Clios, The One Show and South Africa’s Bookmarks Awards, where it won 16 prizes, the most awarded campaign of the year.

Pressure Cooker Studios’ score won the award for best use of sound at The Bookmarks. The audio was nominated for best original score: documentary feature at the International Sound and Film Music Festival. In addition, the score received IDIDTHAT Craft Award Mentions for original music and music supervision.

The wider music team included creative producer Astrid Iverson, lead composers Elben Schutte and Cobus Schutte, and additional composers Andries Smit, Keith Kavayi, Jordan Sterling and Tyron Woods. John Fishlock served as music supervisor. The documentary is produce by Giant Films and Accenture Song, directed by Paul Ward (WARD), and produced by Cindy Gabriel and Jo Barber. Cinematography was led by Jason Prins, with editing by Emily Bussac and Matthew Swanepoel

The documentary forms part of the broader Philipstown WireCar Foundation initiative, helping create long-term opportunities for young people in the town.

* Watch the behind the sound YouTube video here.

* Listen to the soundtrack on Spotify here.

* For more information on the Philipstown WireCar Foundation initiative, visit the website here.