South African singer-songwriter and poet Sydney Stanley Kitchen was unique – he even said so himself, and called his style of music ‘Afro-Saxon’. His attitude to the music industry was uncompromising… and while it didn’t help him further his career, it did establish him as an iconic figure. His lyrics were tinged with socio-political messages… […]

For decades one of Rome’s biggest heartaches has been the Tiber – the gorgeous river snaking through its heart has been totally overlooked. Until now, that is – and renowned South African artist William Kentridge is creating lots of buzz with a mural bigger than the one in the Sistine Chapel. The largest public art work in […]

The Economic Freedom Fighters have released a house video based on the words that the EFF shouted as they exited parliament during President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address – “Zupta Must Fall!” They aren’t the first to “musically” exploit Zuma and his relationship with the Gupta family as well as the scandals surrounding him, such as Nkandla […]

At a packed launch of the English book version of the compiled letters between literary royalty Andre Brink and Ingrid Jonker, Brink’s widow said Cape Town’s revered bookshop the Book Lounge was the perfect place to introduce the book to South Africa. “We came here a lot,” said Karina Brink. “We called it our lounge.” […]

South African-born, Los Angeles-based film director Gavin Hood, who made “Tsotsi” and the newly released thriller “Eye in the Sky” with Helen Mirren, said the entire movie was shot in South Africa, even though it “takes place” in Nairobi, London and Las Vegas. He said the movie, which is a tense drama starring Mirren, Alan Rickman […]

Anywhere in the world, the Labia Theatre would be a gem. The independent, quirky, fabulous, one-of-a-kind movehouse in Cape Town has to be seen and experienced to realise just how special it is. Recently turned 65 years old, the iconic four-screen cinema in the heart of the city  takes you back to the years when going to the […]

The new movie by “Tsotsi” director Gavin Hood opens in South Africa and the United States on Friday, and not only brings him back to Africa but it looks like it’s going to be a blockbuster and rank him with the world’s top action and suspense directors. “Eye in the Sky” has a brilliant cast – Helen […]

The tragic and redemptive story of Amy Biehl, the American Fulbright scholar who was living in South Africa when she was attacked by a township mob in Cape Town and stabbed to death, will be made into a film backed by Tyler Perry and some other US movie luminaries. According to news reports on Thursday, the movie, titled […]

Known for travelling the world with great cars and adventure in its heart, the hugely popular Top Gear not only has two new hosts including “Friends” actor Matt LeBlanc but shot its first episode in the highlands of South Africa and Lesotho. With the departure of the original hosts – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May […]

Nashville singer Beau Davidson has released an epic version of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight‘ in collaboration with the very band that made it a worldwide hit in 36 countries. The song, which had its roots in South Africa, was made famous in 1961 after The Tokens performed it in America. Speaking in a documentary about the new […]

As predicted, South African-born and raised Margaret Sixel won the Best Film Editing Oscar on Monday evening for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. This was the first Academy Award nomination – and (obviously) win – for Sixel, who studied film editing in Australia, and now lives in Sydney with her husband of over 21 years, George Miller… who happens to […]

If the Los Angeles Times has its way, South African-born Margaret Sixel will win the Academy Award tonight for her brilliant editing of the Charlize Theron movie “Mad Max: Fury Road”, Sixel’s first action pic. “Margaret Sixel’s Herculean effort cutting together the massive amount of footage shot by her husband, George Miller, is the favorite,” […]

So many people replied to our story “12 of SA’s Best Movies You Might Have Missed” – especially “Dirkie”, which triggered many a childhood memory – we thought we’d add some of the most popular suggestions that didn’t make it onto the first list. 1. e’Lollipop (aka Forever Young, Forever Free) (1975) A black South African boy […]

Many people know “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – a song often associated with the movie “The Lion King” – but few people know the famous tune was born in a small town in South Africa almost a century ago. In tribute to that song – originally titled “Mbube” – we thought we’d post several of the countless wonderful versions that have been done […]

We all know about “Tsotsi”, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and Leon Schuster’s blockbusters that people might titters at but go see anyway. We also know those movies about South Africa with foreigners trying to pass off as locals (“Cry Freedom”, “Long Road to Freedom”). But here are 12 little screen gems born and bred […]

Check out this performance by former South African expat Gavin Edwards that everyone’s talking about tonight. His rendition of ‘Say Something’ on TV singing contest The Voice South Africa had judges fighting over him and set social media on fire. In fact, there was even a little #ProteaFire involved when AB de Villiers tweeted his […]

With all the Grammy 2016 talk being focussed on the microphone that fell on a piano during Adele’s performance, and Taylor Swift becoming the first woman to win a Grammy of the Year award twice (as main credited artist)… you may have missed this magical moment from Benin musician Angelique Kidjo as she accepted the Grammy […]

From secret beaches to speakeasies to best views of the sunset to a party where you showcase your favourite artist, Catherine Franklin uncovers some of Cape Town’s little secrets. Whether it’s Fish Hoek, the city centre or the Northern Suburbs, they all have some great gems. Now – as they say – it’s time to get out! 1. […]

The year ahead is looking pretty fabulous for Pretty Yende, South Africa’s incredible opera singer who has both New York and Paris clamouring for more. Both the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and the National Opera de Paris have announced Yende’s return to their stages in their 2016/17 line-ups. According to Yende’s Facebook page, “it is with […]

For anyone who loves animated movies like “Finding Nemo” or “Wallace and Gromit”, Cape Town is the place to be for the next four days as the Cape Town International Animation Festival offers a glut of movies and talks and workshops from around the world. Included in the features available will be the highly praised […]

A UK-based production company has announced that it will begin filming a documentary about the circumstances leading to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp by Oscar Pistorius. The shooting of Steenkamp through the locked bathroom door of Pistorius’ house took place on 14 February three years ago, and Pistorius later claimed he thought he was shooting an intruder. […]

The latest Vanity Fair cover is an annual event where the most talked-about stars in movies grace the cover, and one of them is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, whose father is South African and whose name is actually short for Gugulethu. Mbatha-Raw was born in Witney, a rural and typically quaint Oxfordshire town, of a South African doctor […]

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It was one of South Africa’s many dark moments. Fifty years ago, on 11 February in 1966, the neighbourhood of District Six on the fringe of Cape Town’s centre was declared for “Whites Only”. More than half a century later the area has (lamentably, after many hold-ups) still not been built on, and it remains a very visible […]