With what some are calling the most diverse Top 16 finalists ever, you might want to tune in for the Miss South Africa 2019 pageant.  The event is being broadcast live on M-Net (101) and Mzansi Magic (161) on Friday 9 August, starting at 5pm.  Reigning Miss SA Tamaryn Green will be there, at the […]

From discovering a two-headed shark, to searching for the original Jaws, Shark Week on DStv Now is packed with fascinating shows from the Discovery Channel. Did you know that you have a better chance of being killed by a lightning strike than being attacked by a shark? Or that some sharks are the same size […]

The director of a film festival in Mexico has asked the Mexican government for permission to screen a South African film in the coastal town of Tulum’s main plaza… because he believes it’s that important! Tulum World Environment Film Festival director Cesar di Parra said at an awards ceremony on Sunday: “We believe the message […]

Showmax subscribers will be able to live stream the Bokke taking on the All Blacks in Wellington on their screens at 9:35am (South African time) on Saturday, 27 July. Fresh from their victory over the Wallabies at Ellis Park last weekend, the Springboks are facing the All Blacks on Saturday morning in Wellington. The last […]

Universal Man: Jonathan Clegg “Sikeyi” (1953-2019). “Sikeyi” is a Zulu dance praise name: “The peg through a yoke that secures oxen in position, from Afrikaans juskei (juk: yoke], referring to the capacity of a formidable dancer to hold his stand.” In my mind, like a Zulu ngoma (drum) dancer completing his turn, I somersault backwards […]

“When you spend two decades of your life with somebody, and you lose them, it takes time to realise what impact that person’s life had on your own life and that of the rest of the world. This is the case with me and Nelson Mandela,” says Zelda la Grange, Madiba’s long-term personal assistant. On […]

Here’s the line-up of hot topics dominating the headlines in South Africa this week that the Carte Blanche team are tackling this Sunday 21 July. You can watch the current affairs show here if you’re in SA or stream it from Tues 23 July on Showmax International if you’re overseas (available in many countries abroad). […]

On Tuesday night South Africa’s Ndlovu Youth Choir sang their HEARTS out for America – exciting the crowd with an extremely high energy cover of ‘Wake Waka!” on America’s Got Talent (AGT) 2019. Watch below. (They had us with the first word – “AFRICA…”) And in just three days the video has attracted over 1.8 […]

I’m sorry. I wanted to love The Lion King. Especially since it’s set in Africa. I tried so hard. It features South Africa’s own John Kani as the voice of Rafaki. But the film was disappointing in so many respects… writes Cassie Jo. As most of South Africa knows by now, Walt Disney’s newly revamped […]

After reporting on Johnny Clegg’s death on Tuesday 16 July, after a 4-year long, brave battle with pancreatic cancer, we couldn’t write or post anything yesterday. We were just too heartbroken. Like many journalists I had met Johnny (66) a few times, spent time at his home in Joburg and met his lovely wife Jenny, […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s iconic singer and songwriter, Johnny Clegg, has sadly passed away today, Tuesday 16 July 2019, at the age of 66. The nation and all the “scatterlings of Africa” will mourn his passing. Clegg was diagnosed with cancer four years ago in 2015. During his career he helped unite South Africans of […]

Here’s the line-up of hot South African topics that the Carte Blanche team are tackling this Sunday 14 July. You can watch the current affairs show here if you’re in SA or stream it from Tues 16 July on Showmax International if you’re overseas (available in many countries abroad). Cape Town Gangs Thirteen people dead […]

PORT ELIZABETH – Ivanah Campbell is six years old but only a few months after her videos started reaching the Internet she has drawn a fast-growing worldwide audience for her freestyle dance moves. https://www.facebook.com/ivanahthedancer/videos/640788503087827/ “I love music, it does something inside my heart,” the Grade 1 pupil from Port Elizabeth was quoted saying. She likes […]

The Miss South Africa organisation has on Thursday announced the Top 16 finalists for the competition. The choices have been welcomed on social media for the “adequate representation” of South African women. This year’s contestants include young graduates, business owners, women who are inspired and inspiring, and young South African women who’ve had struggles – […]

If you’re in South Africa right now, you can watch top-quality TV online on Showmax and DStv Now… This is TV’s golden age, when Oscar winners like Meryl Streep are flocking to the small screen in series that have audiences hooked. And the TV studio making the best of this great content is American giant […]

Over on Twitter, actor John Kani has been trending at the top of the South African list ever since The Lion King released the following photo of the cast of the new movie remake… without including South Africa’s esteemed actor who plays the voice of Rafaki (the wise mandrill). The cast of #TheLionKing. The king […]

Since taking the US by storm on America’s Got Talent, South Africa’s Ndlovu Youth Choir have been inundated with congratulatory messages, but what makes their success story even more amazing is the heartache behind the huge smiles on stage. (See video below.) UPDATE: While the Ndlovu Youth Choir didn’t win AGT, they won hearts around […]

CAPE TOWN – Brave, breakout documentary film STROOP – Journey into the Rhino Horn War has just won two more awards against all odds – the Backsberg Encounters Audience Award back home, and a Genesis Award in Los Angeles… at a festival that included awards for international movie-making icons like Stephen Spielberg and Natalie Portman! […]

Showmax has a bumper crop of exclusives this month, with hit series like HBO’s Euphoria, the latest season of Younger, the second instalment of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, the Fosters spin-off Good Trouble and Season 2 of Die Byl coming only to Showmax. Here are the shows we’re most looking forward to in July. Happy […]

From stories that feel all too real, to a fantasy that turns our idea of identity on its head, these four local South African gems on Showmax will speak to you. Asinamali  A struggle activist recently returned from exile works with convicts to produce a musical play. The play brings up painful memories, both personal […]

Goosebumps! South Africa’s Ndlovu Youth Choir received a rip, roaring standing ovation after their America’s Got Talent 2019 audition, which – as one of the judges said – is the “biggest talent stage in the world”. Simon Cowell said: “We’ve always been waiting for a choir like this, something we’ve never heard before. And your […]

Francois van Coke bared his rebel heart for a goosebump performance together with South Africa’s famous Drakensberg Boys Choir on The Voice South Africa. For the boys, it was extra special to meet the man whose songs they sometimes sing! The Voice SA described the incredible performance as “the juxtaposition of (Francois’) gritty and emotional […]

On Friday 14 June, Carina Bruwer, contemporary flute player from South Africa and founding member of the award-winning instrumental group Sterling EQ, will attempt to swim 21km from Alicante to Tabarca Island in Spain, in support of Muzukidz, an organisation through which children from poor township families around Cape Town in South Africa are given […]

On Thursday one of Paris’ main train stations – the Gare de Lyon – was transformed into Gare de Lion (The Lion’s Station ?)… and travellers were able to witness a spectacular musical performance by Disneyland Paris! As with most train stations in France, there is a piano that anybody – from amateur to professional […]

A mother and son duet is going totally viral in South Africa – attracting millions of views – not just because of the duo’s awesome musical talent… but because of the loving family values it instils, as mom and son can be seen looking at each other with such ‘precious’ love as they perform ‘A […]