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Netflix previews new local content
Netflix has increased its focus on South African storytelling to bring viewers more home-grown entertainment.
Here are what Netflix subscribers in South Africa can expect in December 2020:
- Riding with Sugar – 27 November: Riding with Sugar is a coming-of-age, feel-good story about a young refugee’s quest for BMX glory and the pursuit of identity, safety, happiness and love. The film tells the story of a young refugee, Joshua (Charles Mnene), who has dreams of winning a BMX cycling championship as a means to finding a better life. A pivotal event redirects his fate. He meets Mambo (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), an enigmatic educator and foreigner himself who offers shelter to young refugees from all over the African continent. When Joshua meets Olivia (Simona Brown), a talented young dancer from a well-to-do family, it brings him into a world he has never known before, but their burgeoning love casts a shadow over Mambo’s agenda.
- Kings of Joburg – 4 December: Shona Ferguson stars as Simon “Vader” Masire, a member of the KOJ brotherhood and the eldest of the Masire siblings. As the smoother and charming brother, prolific businessman – Simon, leads the family business. However, under the lavish suites and ties is a man hiding a deep dark secret. Zolisa Xaluva portrays the role of Mogomotsi “Mo” Masire, Simon’s young brother and an ex-convict who finds himself having to choose between the life that got him in jail and honouring his responsibilities to the legacy of a crime family and older brother he loves.
- How to Ruin Christmas – 16 December: When family rebel and disappointment, Tumi Sello, begrudgingly joins her dysfunctional family for the first Christmas holidays in years, it’s not the merry return of the prodigal daughter everyone was hoping for. She manages to ruin her younger sister’s Christmas wedding before it even takes place, and spends her next 6 days frantically trying to get things back on track
Ben Amadasun, director of licensing and co-productions for Netflix in Africa, says: “The number of titles grew so significantly since the start of 2020, that we created our Made In Africa and Naija to the World collections to help our members easily find their next great African film and series to watch. Going into 2021 we’ll continue to scour the continent for the best-in-class African stories to enjoy.”
Netflix also recently formed a partnership with Realness Institute to create an Episodic Content Development Lab for writers in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Read more about how African creators can get their stories on Netflix.
