Supported by wealthy and powerful organisations like Safari Club International, the Dallas Safari Club and the National Rifle Association, and egged on by countless awards and record book listings, trophy hunters have gunned down 1.7 million wild animals in the past decade. Around 250,000 were endangered species. This is detailed in an alarming book, “Trophy […]

Showmax has since May been releasing “a whole pride” of programmes – series, reality shows and movies – celebrating the LGBTIAQ+ community, and the latest are six great African series and movies, five from South Africa, including “Kanarie” and “Inxeba (The Wound)”. “In the past few years, TV series and movies have made great strides […]

This Sunday Carte Blanche investigates a mystery that took place at a guest house on a farm in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, near to Kareedouw. You can watch the show on Sunday 14 June in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from Tues 16  June if you’re abroad. […]

The Kiffness has become famous in South Africa during Lockdown for keeping the nation’s citizens entertained – and in stitches – with his parody songs… like the new national anthem he produced to make fun of tobacco laws! But this parody of the Beatles’ hit ‘Hey Jude’ is different. Watch to the end and you […]

Thirty general practitioners from Gauteng, South Africa, have come together during lockdown, put aside their stethoscopes for a few minutes, and sung a ballad to show encouragement to others during this particularly tough time. The Gauteng General Practitioners Collaboration celebrating the camaraderie of medical professionals as “Voices that Care” was posted by on the GGPC […]

South Africans in SA and around the world are called on to support (and enjoy!) the ‘Lockdown Legends online event, an initiative that’s raising funds for the South African music industry by members of the industry. Due to the devastating impact of Covid-19, artists and music industry professionals have been denied any source of income. […]

Wondering what to stream on these long nights in? Try these new series, movies and documentaries from Showmax. There are Hollywood highlights, some British gems and top local fare to keep you warm inside.   International Series Motherland: Fort Salem S1 Fantasy drama Motherland: Fort Salem is set in an alternate America where witches ended […]

Over 60,000 people and counting have enjoyed this beautiful performance by the Stellenbosch University Choir – Die Donker (The Dark). As one YouTube user (Jason Tillett) says: “Afrikaans never sounded more beautiful! Ongelooflik ❤️” (The English translation is at the bottom of the article.) Update, 1 Feb ’21: Over 339,000 have now viewed this video […]

This week, Carte Blanche investigates how perpetrators of heinous crimes are considered for parole in South Africa, and how can you know if a paedophile lives in your area, or even right next door? When 12-year-old Michaela Williams was found raped and murdered near her home, her parents couldn’t have imagined that her killer lived […]

Some of South Africa’s greatest musicians from the last few decades are uniting to perform a unique ‘Lockdown Legends’ online concert that will raise much-needed funds for the SA music industry, and entertain South Africans at home with famous household names. The event – on 7 June 2020 – will feature many of the legendary […]

Whether you’re looking for triumph over adversity, and underdog classic or silly antics on or off the field, SuperSport is serving the best sports movies of all time every evening from 8.30 pm. Subscribers, livestream them on DStv Now at now.dstv.com or pick your choice of football, motorsport, golf, boxing or even surfing movies on […]

South Africa’s ‘Zol’ song – making fun of Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s explanation about the smoking ban in SA – has not only gone viral, it’s also topped the Apple Music Charts in South Africa, made international news and become a Friends video meme. The BBC said – in a story titled “South African minister embraces […]

A UK newspaper has rated South Africa’s ‘Moffie’ as one of the best films so far this year. Following the movie’s successful digital launch in South Africa, Moffie was released for streaming on Curzon Home Cinema in the UK at the end of last month… where is was met with an overwhelming positive critical response […]

In celebration of Africa Day, 25 May, Mall of Africa will be having a virtual concert, “Sessions for Africa Day,” that will include Toya Delazy, Zolani Mahola and Lira. Starting from 7 p.m., the listen-from-home concert is free of charge, Mall of Africa said, but viewers can donate towards supporting local artists and the Attacq […]

This week, Carte Blanche gives us an insight into the other side of the Global Pandemic that has caused distress to homeowners and tenants worldwide. You can watch the show on Sunday 10 May in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from Tues 12 May if you’re abroad. COVID-19: […]

They’re fascinating and thought-provoking, leave our hearts warmed… or seething with rage. Be informed by proudly South African documentaries now streaming on Showmax.  1. How to Steal a Country How to Steal a Country documents the Gupta family’s rise from flea-market shoe salesmen to owners of a controversial business empire in South Africa in fewer […]

For those looking from the global North, African literature is often marketed in a narrow way, comprising worthy stories of resistance, written in an uplifting and sober realist mode. Seen from the continent itself, this view has long been brushed aside by the effervescence and animation of ongoing literary experimentation and creativity. I approached literary […]

In a salute to the frontline workers in the fight against the Coronavirus the members of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra have created an incredible video of Cape Town seen from a drone while they play the “Intermezzo” from the opera “Cavalleria Rusticana.” It is part of a series of lockdown concerts by the […]

The South African wildlife crime documentary STROOP – journey into the rhino horn war, by director Susan Scott and television presenter Bonné de Bod, scooped the award for Best Natural History and Environmental Programme at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) on Wednesday night. This is the 28th award for the film which […]

The Drakensberg Boys Choir in KwaZulu-Natal has produced a wonderfully fun and light-hearted parody of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’… starring not only the boys, but their teachers too. Deidre Alcock, from the famous South African school, told SAPeople: “Our school campus is a bleak and miserable place when there are no boys around and when […]

The Kiffness has given us so many fantastic songs during Lockdown, but this heartwarming video will be remembered as one of the most special – a duet with his father. Watch below as the father and son team sing (via Skype) a Cat Stevens (Yusuf) Lockdown Parody – based on, of course, ‘Father and Son’… […]

Multi-talented classic South African tenor Etienne van der Nest has been bringing Berlin to a stop each evening, as he sings magnificently from his balcony. As word has grown in the German city about Etienne’s performances, crowds have gathered to watch, to listen, to record, to applaud and to appreciate. To feel connected and in […]

The performing arts is one of the sectors hit hard by COVID-19, with tens of thousands of gigs cancelled across the world. While pop and electronic music has evolved with online platforms like YouTube as their natural habitat, jazz has remained more strongly tied to live performance, using social media and online videos mainly as […]

As South Africa went into Covid-19 lockdown in late March, over 50 performers encouraged the nation to do something powerful –  “to reflect on the lyrics of our anthem, as a source of inspiration and optimism, and to bravely sing it out loud.” Yesterday the man behind the concept – James Bassingthwaighte – announced: “1000+ […]

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Freedom Day celebrations in South Africa will be marked using online platforms, says the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. “Freedom Day, as South Africans know it, is very different this year… The COVID-19… pandemic has changed things… [from] the norm,” said the department ahead of Freedom Day […]