Carte Blanche: Interviews the oldest living survivor of the Holocaust
Here’s what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this week. You can watch the show on Sunday 19 February in South Africa on DStv Now OR stream it overseas in most countries on Showmax from Tuesday 21 February if you’re abroad. Ella’s Triumph In 1943, at the height of Germany’s occupation of Poland during the Second World War, […]
Here’s what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this week. You can watch the show on Sunday 19 February in South Africa on DStv Now OR stream it overseas in most countries on Showmax from Tuesday 21 February if you’re abroad.
Ella’s Triumph
In 1943, at the height of Germany’s occupation of Poland during the Second World War, Ella Blumenthal was just 22. A young Jewish activist, she’d already lost almost every member of her family to Adolf Hitler’s regime. Like millions of others, she and her niece had been rounded up by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. They endured the horror of three of the camps – including the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp – and, for two long years, they were subjected to starvation, torture, and humiliation. But they both survived. Now, at 101, Ella is the oldest living survivor of the Holocaust in South Africa and is the subject of a documentary called I Am Here. Retracing her remarkable will to survive and thrive, it’s a celebration of a vivacious, outspoken and unique personality with a flair for fashion. Carte Blanche meets this extraordinary woman. (Producer: Latashia Naidoo | Presenter: Claire Mawisa)
Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now
https://youtu.be/1lAaB4OK5hA
Also on Carte Blanche this Sunday 19 February
“Forgive the question, but are you old enough to remember the cinema releases of The Karate Kid and the first Rocky? And, if you are, do you recall feeling utterly inspired by them? Driven by an inexplicable primal urge to head home, wrap a dressing gown cord around your forehead, and unleash a flurry of backyard roundhouses on villainous plywood tomato boxes. Just me? Well, that might explain why I’m so excited about Sunday’s profile of our country’s two top MMA fighters. This type of access is rare. In fact, about as rare as their talent.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Into the Octagon
In the shadows of the arena, a hulking figure stands, draped in a South African flag. After saying a prayer, his face is smeared in Vaseline, and he steps into an Octagon fenced by chain-link. This is the famed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), probably the globe’s most brutal sport, and South African Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ du Plessis is one of its best exponents. It’s taken Dricus months of training to get here, but these days he’s joined at the UFC’s regular fight nights by his protégé, Cameron Saaiman. At 22, his young understudy has already put on some dominant performances in the Octagon and is being billed as the sport’s future. As he and Dricus prepare for UFC 285, Carte Blanche is invited into their secretive fight camp where their physical and mental preparation pushes them to their limits. (Producer: Sinethemba Nogude | Presenter: Derek Watts)
Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now
https://youtu.be/pw3V-o2qwqE
Murder in Morningside
It’s late on a Friday night in Durban. A group of people emerge from a restaurant, among them arguably the country’s most famous musician. They’re in a jovial mood, hugging and shaking hands. Seconds later, a man rushes towards them, a gun in hand. He shoots before disappearing into the darkness. At the same time, another assailant fires at the group from a different direction. As chaos erupts, Kiernan Forbes, also known as AKA, and his friend, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, lie dead on the pavement. Their murder makes instant news on social media, and almost immediately speculation circulates on the motive for the killing. Could it be the work of KwaZulu-Natal’s notorious iinkabi – faceless guns for hire, apparently untouchable by law enforcement? As Forbes becomes the third musician gunned down in South Africa in the space of just four months, Carte Blanche investigates. (Producer: Latashia Naidoo | Presenter: Bongani Bingwa)
Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now
https://youtu.be/Do6mQ9S7Xj4
Stinkholes
Khutsong near Carletonville on Gauteng’s West Rand is built on dolomite. It’s a soluble rock which means, over time, its structure is weakened by moisture in the ground, affecting its integrity and causing fractures and fault lines. Houses in the area are quite literally built on shaky ground. But, in Khutsong, there’s another problem: the cavities created by collapsing dolomite are being filled with sewage; a malodorous and disturbing clue about the danger underfoot. Apart from the giant sinkholes threatening to swallow the area, their contents point to the near-total collapse of the entire sewage system in the Merafong municipality. Carte Blanche visits a community living on the edge. (Producer: Anina Peens | Presenter: Derek Watts)
Watch the show overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now
https://youtu.be/2BGdokkEV4s
CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST
Masa Versus the Machine, the Solar Revolution & School Violence
ChatGPT – no, it’s not the latest Gauteng Province chatbot. It’s an AI-based service that’s taken the world (and the Daily Maverick newsroom) by storm. Ferial and Masa try and wrap their heads around this latest tech revolution in this week’s episode of The WholeWeek Wrap with Daily Maverick.
EXTRA: Türkiye-Syria Earthquake
When disaster struck parts of Türkiye and Syria early in February, Dr Simpiwe Sobuwa immediately packed his bags to assist Gift of the Givers in providing aid to affected residents. He speaks to Carte Blanche producer Siniketiwe Hlanze from Antakya in Türkiye about his experiences on the ground and the tireless search for survivors.
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Loving with Convict(ion)
What happens when the man of your dreams is a convicted criminal serving time behind bars? For one woman in Gauteng, nothing could get in the way of her newly found love connection with a prisoner.
The Day the Earth Shook
The ground shook violently, buildings crumbled, and lives were shattered in an instant. As rescuers race to find survivors following the deadly Türkiye-Syria earthquake, we speak to South Africans impacted by the devastation.
Astounding footage whilst all the while, intimate insight into this profound tragedy. A great insert.
— Karolina Andropoulos (@Karolina_Androp) February 12, 2023
Taking Taxis to Task
A faceless war is raging against competition and regulation in the taxi industry as associations and rogue operators seem intent on running trains, buses, e-hailing, staff and school transport off the road. Threats, intimidation, and violence have escalated. Now, the City of Cape Town is ratcheting up the tension by introducing a new and unique bylaw which will hit the operators where it hurts – in their pockets. But can the city take back the routes and enforce the law as it impounds taxis on an industrial scale?
Cape Town learners stranded by ‘taxi mafia’ blocking scholar transport https://t.co/WIcmbso8I0
— Ferial Haffajee (@ferialhaffajee) February 16, 2023
If you’re overseas – you can watch #CarteBlanche from Tuesdays, and thousands of other popular local South African shows & movies by subscribing to Showmax International now. You can try it FREE for 14 days.
Find full episodes of Carte Blanche on DStv Catch Up.
Carte Blanche is on M-Net & M-Net HD [101], 19 February 2023 at 19:00 & again on M-Net Plus 1 [901] at 20:00
***
Please note: Carte Blanche is only available to international Showmax subscribers in Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Not all titles are available in all territories. Showmax brings you the best South African series and movies, from the classics to the latest releases, from complete box sets to kids’ favourites.