BBC News cancels HARDtalk after 27 years along with a further 130 newsroom staff cuts

by Thinus Ferreira

The BBC has cancelled its long-running HARDtalk interview show seen on BBC News (DStv 400) after 28 years which will end in March 2025 with the show's axing coming amidst further budget cuts and 130 news division workers losing their jobs.

On social media, Stephen Sackur, HARDtalk's presenter, said that "BBC News has announced plans to close HARDtalk after 3 decades holding the world's politicians and powerbrokers to account". He is also exiting the BBC.

Stephen Sackur noted "This is sad news for me personally, but much more important, I think it's depressing news for the BBC and all who believe in the importance of independent, rigorous, deeply-researched journalism. At a time when disinformation and media manipulation are poisoning public discourse".

He said "A brilliant team of producers and researchers is being disbanded just as BBC director-general Tim Davie is trying to persuade the British government that the journalism of the BBC World Service is such a vital expression of democratic soft power that the taxpayer must fund it. Whatever the outcome of that, it seems it will be too late to save HARDtalk".

HARDtalk started in 1997. The BBC says "HARDtalk has done great work across the last 25 years, but we've had to make some tough decisions given the level of savings required and changing audience habits".

"People are coming to our news channel for live and breaking news, while across the whole of BBC News, we have hard-hitting long-form interviews and discussion on more platforms than ever, for instance via our global on-air editors, and our debate and discussion programmes."

Investigation Discovery (ID) adds Chris Brown physical violence exposé ahead of South African concert tour

by Thinus Ferreira

His cycle of abuse and the troubled past of American singer Chris Brown will be exposed in the new documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence coming to Investigation Discovery (DStv 171) on 8 November as part of the channel's annual "No Excuse for Abuse" campaign.

Sunny Hostin is the presenter of the new documentary which will be on ID, coming amidst growing public pressure on Big Concerts and Chris Brown to cancel a concert tour to South Africa in December.

After growing public backlash, the local NGO Women For Change started a petition calling for a boycott of Chris Brown's performance at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, the controversial artist trolled the organisation by noting that he "can't wait to come".

ID will broadcast Chris Brown: A History of Violence on Friday 8 November at 21:00.

"In 2009 the world was exposed to a much darker side of the pop star when he made headlines for assaulting his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. This arrest put a spotlight on Brown and his adult life, which has involved multiple violent incidents, including intimate partner violence, assault charges, and even sexual assault allegations," ID says.

"Chris Brown: A History of Violence charts Chris Brown's past all the way back to his troubled childhood, explores the lasting impact of the cycle of abuse, and poses the question: how does a man with such a violent public record maintain his superstar status?"

"With expert and cultural commentary layered throughout, the documentary provides thoughtful reflections on each survivor's experience and the psychological destruction left in the aftermath of their abuse."

Sunny Hostin says "Throughout my career, I have always prioritised being a fierce defender of women and children".

"Domestic violence is a very close, personal issue to me as I reflect on my past as a prosecutor of these types of cases and in my role as a mother and public figure whose actions inform and help shape the next generation."

"This issue is a prevalent epidemic which knows no socio-economic boundaries, so I am dedicated to expanding and continuing this crucial conversation. The more we know, the better we can help advocate for change as a society."

Jason Sarlanis, ID president, says "ID is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities through its programming and campaigns. Our annual No Excuse for Abuse campaign amplifies this message, providing resources to show survivors and their loved ones that they are not alone and that help is available".

"In our third year, we are creating impactful content and collaborating with champions like Sunny Hostin, who brings her expertise and passion to lead thoughtful and nuanced discussions on domestic violence."

Growing consumer frustration with fast-rising video streaming costs

by Thinus Ferreira 

New consumer research from Deloitte has found growing frustration among consumers with the fast-rising costs of video streaming services.

According to the new market research, 64% of consumers are increasingly unhappy and frustrated with the constant, increasing prices of streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and the like, with over 44% who have actually cancelled at least one video-on-demand (VOD) subscription in the last 6 months.

The consumer market research is based on a survey which was conducted under 3 554 American consumers during June and July this year.

According to Deloitte, 15% of respondents said that they do password sharing and use someone else's video streaming service password, while 7% have watched pirated TV shows or movies and around 4% do both.

Under the so-called Gen Z and Millennials categories more than 35% of password sharers indicated that they don't want to pay for a streaming video service.

Cast and crew of Paramount Africa's Queendom telenovela on BET once again shuts down production after going unpaid again with 'milestone not met'

by Thinus Ferreira

Production has shut down yet again and filming abruptly stopped on Paramount Africa's embattled Queendom telenovela produced by Clive Morris Productions (CMP) for BET Africa (DStv 129) after the show's crew and cast decided to stop working a second time, after they were once again not paid as promised.

There's been no public statement to the industry or MultiChoice's DStv subscribers from Clive Morris Productions or from Monde Twala, Paramount Africa senior vice president and general manager and BET International lead, about the latest Queendom production shutdown that started two weeks ago already.

Paramount Africa has remained silent in previous months over the reasons behind why the scandal-plagued show's crew and cast have not been paid and what exactly Paramount Africa and the production company have been doing about it.

The cast and crew on Queendom again stopped working on 2 October after they were again not paid by Clive Morris Productions at the end of September despite promises of payment.

The past two weeks' worth in lost episode production due to filming downtime and work stoppage over non-payment will likely once again force Queendom off the air soon and Paramount Africa to once again schedule repeats when it again runs out of completed episodes to air.

New episodes of Queendom just started again on BET on 23 September, two months after Paramount Africa was forced to switch to padded filler with rebroadcasts of episodes already completed since 22 July, after Clive Morris Productions ran out of money to film and even to pay cast and crew.

Paramount Africa didn't respond to earlier media queries about the rebroadcasts or how it would work, or what was going on.

Paramount Africa was forced to switch to repeats of Queendom just four months after its debut on BET Africa due to financial problems and not being able to finance and pay for production.

There been no explanation, and no response to earlier media queries made to Paramount Africa, on where Clive Morris Productions found the money to restart the embattled production which already saw cast and crew forced to sell possessions to buy food, while a crew member couldn't pay for a parent's funeral after a funeral policy lapsed due to non-payment.

On 25 September, just days before the Queendom crew and cast were supposed to be paid at the end of the month, Paramount Africa held what it called a "Paramount Summer Showcase" event for some Johannesburg media at Rockets in Bryanston and where some Queendom actors appeared and talked up the returning, yet floundering show's prospects.

About the latest Queendom work-stoppage which has been going for two weeks, a crew member told City Press newspaper "We are not going to work, we are still not paid".

According to the person, Clive Morris Productions told cast and crew they would be paid by Friday.

The person told City Press "If we get paid, we will resume work on Monday if the actors are available. This is the second week of not going to work. It's not looking good. People are not happy in the group because they said funds would be released but there is still nothing."

According to insiders they were duped by Clive Morris Productions and lured back to work with promises of getting paid again - which then didn't happen. 

Meanwhile, several crew and cast didn't return last month when filming restarted after the show shutdown and have since been lost to the show after they opted to take other work.

Clive Morris sent a message to the Queendom crew and cast about not being paid yet again, noting "I acknowledge this is difficult to understand. The funder is still there but requires various milestones to be met to release funds. A milestone was not met but we are attempting to get that closed so that funds can be released".

Unfulfilled payment promises

As I've reported earlier, Queendom started out as a co-production, with BET responsible for half of the investment, which was fulfilled by BET Africa and Clive Morris Productions responsible for the other 50%.

According to CMP, a backer pulled out that would have paid its 50% towards the production costs, but it's unclear why pre-production and filming started before the funding was fully paid over.

Insiders told TVwithThinus earlier that MultiChoice, Paramount Africa and Clive Morris Productions (CMP) are all equal parts responsible for the financial scandal of letting a show go into production without having secured the total money upfront to make it.

According to insiders Queendom had to shut down since MultiChoice placed massive pressure on Paramount Africa to maintain a contractual local content quota for BET Africa whereby Paramount must produce and air a number of local hours per year on the channel.

Paramount Africa, under pressure to adhere to its local content contract with MultiChoice or face stiff penalities, went ahead to programme Queendom on BET, with CMP which started filming even though the show's complete budget wasn't covered by production money in the bank.

Further complicating matters: Clive Morris Productions wanted to retain a stake in the show in order to benefit over the long run from back-end licensing - which is why the production company was and is responsible for putting up the financing of its "part" in the show's production equity.

When the available Queendom money ran out, angry and upset crew and cast continued working unpaid for a while based on payment promises, but eventually decided to down tools collectively.

ALSO READ: Paramount Africa's Queendom on BET shut down with cast and crew unpaid by Clive Morris Productions as MultiChoice's Showmax also gives Empini to another producer.

ALSO READ: Paramount Africa silent over unpaid Queendom crew and cast and why BET signed off for filming to start on Clive Morris Production show that didn't have production money fully in the bank.

ALSO READ: Paramount Africa refuses to explain anything as BET Africa's cash-crashed Queendom from Clive Morris Productions restarts filming after shutdown and payment failure scandal.

Inside MultiChoice's push to expand Namibia's kykNET content

by Thinus Ferreira

An old Damara saying holds that patience is the key to eating ripe fruit and it is true for M-Net which has quietly been ramping up and expanding its slate of Afrikaans kykNET content from Namibia as it integrates stories from its South African neighbour into shows and even the nightly weather forecasts.

Observe closely, and notice that while Namibia is the country of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ovine, the Ovambo and the Omuramba, on M-Net's Afrikaans TV channels division, Namibia has come to resemble almost another South African province.

From increasing inserts on magazine shows like Kwêla, to the new culinary cooking show Op Pad met my Potjie, travelogues like Die Groot Niks with Neil Sandilands, Namibian towns included in the "Dorp van die Jaar" competition, and even Namibia featuring within the nightly eNuus weather forecast, the land of sand looms larger on DStv than ever before.

Production has started on the feature film My F*k Marelize, and the Namibian natural history documentary film Eden se Beskermengele just made its debut and is available on DStv Catch Up. 

At the end of September, MultiChoice held the first MultiChoice Film Festival in Windhoek with panel sessions and content screenings, showcasing productions created under the MultiChoice Namibia local content-creation banner of "Ombura", comprising six feature films, and a documentary.

M-Net told TVwithThinus that kykNET is actively ramping up the commissioning of Namibian content for DStv subscribers and says "kykNET, in collaboration with MultiChoice Namibia and the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), is actively commissioning Namibian content".

"This partnership demonstrates MultiChoice's commitment to nurturing the Namibian television and film industry and providing viewers with high-quality local content."

The new Namibian lifestyle show, Op pad met my Potjie on Mondays at 21:30 on kykNET which started 30 September, sees Afrikaans foodie Joalette de Villiers travel across Namibia equipped with nothing more than a three-legged pot.

As she learns how to make and value different popular Namibian dishes, Joalette meets various people and experiences their culture through food as the show explores Namibian culture through the common tradition of cooking a potjie and the Afrikaans language. 

Op pad met my Potjie not only showcases all the places Joalette visits from the perspective of the locals who live there but it captures and reflects Namibia to its viewers. 

A show like this also opens up Namibia to DStv subscribers in South Africa who have never seen many of these places in their neighbouring country and are surprised about the striking architecture and that Namibia is more than sand dunes.

"One of the interesting discoveries in commissioning Namibian content is the deep connection between Afrikaans-speaking Namibians and South Africans," MultiChoice notes.

"Despite the geographical distance, these communities share a common language, cultural heritage, and historical experiences. This shared identity has facilitated a strong sense of kinship and resonance among viewers on both sides of the border."

"However, while there are many similarities with their South African counterparts, Namibian Afrikaans culture has evolved in response to the country's unique historical, geographical, and social contexts."

"This has led to subtle yet significant differences in language, dialect, customs, and cultural celebrations, one of which will form the backdrop to the film My f*k, Marelize."

Namibian feature films

In 2022, MultiChoice Namibia decided to ramp up its output of local and inspiring Namibian content and to empower and establish Namibian content producers within the country's creative industry.

Thirteen films have since debuted on DStv, GOtv and MultiChoice's streamer Showmax under the "Namibia to the World" banner, and MultiChoice and kykNET are working on the next batch of programme development under the Ombura content pipeline.

Ombura includes eight projects - six feature films, a documentary and a lifestyle series – each showcasing a unique and authentic perspective of Namibia, its culture, its people, and way of life.

Upcoming films on Sunday evenings on kykNET&Kie (DStv 145) at 20:00 include Speel Aan on 13 October in which a former soccer coach, haunted by his tragic past, reluctantly accepts a job coaching a struggling high school team in the hope of redemption.

Speel Aan stars Dawie Engelbrecht, Hazel Hinda, Lucky Pieters, and Edo Dice Lutete with Errol Geingob as director.

Ataman on 20 October, directed by Lucia Kim Hamunghete and stars Mpumelelo Malgas, Azembua Katjirua, Norman Job, and Timothy Strauss. 

In Ataman a young, ambitious soccer player refuses to let his deceased father's shadow and a string of setbacks stop him from making the national team.

In !Dhina Boys on 27 October a single mom starts a neighbourhood watch with a self-defence instructor after a mugging, trying to thwart the evil plans of a gang leader.

Michael Swartbooi and Lucia Kim Hamunghete are the directors of this film starring Senga Brockerhoff, Otja Kooper, Keanu Greeves, Norbert van Wyk and Joe Mulisa.

Die Rooftog on 3 November, with director Hildegard Titus, is a comedy film that tells the story of a hardworking young man named Ernest who is struggling financially. Then his cousin Sly shows up in town with a plan to solve all their problems – he wants to rob luxury salons in Windhoek. Will they get away with it?

Die Rooftog stars Roger Nino, Edo Dice Lutete, Tjiurimo Kandjii, Amy-Leigh Hammond, Joyce Sydne Tjizu, Abigail Goliath, Oscar Shilongo, and Mark Kariahuua.

The action film Lubinda on 10 November directed by Leon Mubiana sees Lubinda return to the underworld after he left a life of crime behind, to rescue his rebellious daughter from the jaws of a vengeful past.

The film stars Fareed Du Toit, Harmony Ahalwa, Llewellyn Muenjo, Nguundja Kandjii, Filna Nalisa, and Johan Engelbrecht.

MultiChoice says abducted and rescued Nigerian sports crew were CAF freelancers and not working for DStv

by Thinus Ferreira

Contrary to reports from Nigeria that a crew of MultiChoice and SuperSport was abducted with one person killed on their way to cover an Afcon match, MultiChoice tells TVwithThinus the crew was freelance workers hired by CAF with the match not shown on DStv.

SP Tochukwu Ikenga, police public relations officer of the Anambra State Police Command in Awka, Nigeria, tells TVwithThinus that "Joint security forces have successfully rescued six members of the media crew who were abducted while travelling from Lagos to Uyo along Isseke-Orlu Road in Ihiala".

A 7th member was shot and killed.

While Nigeria reports said that the crew worked for MultiChoice, the pay-TV operator tells me the crew in question are freelancers hired by CAF and that MultiChoice was not even showing that specific match on any of the DStv TV channels.

The SABC'S Sentech blackout over non-payment of R1.3 billion pushed out for another 2 months

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's embattled public broadcaster won't have its signals cut over non-payment for the next two months.

The cash-strapped and technically insolvent SABC is battling two major existential threats.

Firstly the SABC is facing signal loss and having the signals from its TV and radio channels axed by parastatal signal distributor Sentech which the SABC simply stopped paying and owes over R1.3 billion. Sentech has threatened that it will cut the broadcaster's signals.

Secondly, the SABC that has experienced a massive TV ratings loss due to it already, faces the dire threat of having millions of its viewers completely wiped away when the South African government plans to switch off the last of South Africa's analogue signal towers on 31 December before viewers have been properly help to migrate to digital terrestrial television (DTT) options.

Now Solly Malatsi, South Africa's latest minister of communications and digital technologies, says he has intervened to prevent Sentech from axing the SABC's signals for at least another two months.

That gives the SABC some further breathing space on the one problem, although Malatsi remains silent on the SABC's looming analogue switch-off disaster which is as pressing a problem.

Malatsi in a statement says he intervened and set up a meeting between the SABC and Sentech to find a solution to the SABC's inability and unwillingness to pay Sentech and the risk that South Africans would be cut off due to the SABC's non-payment.

Malatsi says the latest agreement is that Sentech "will not switch off the public broadcaster for at least the next two months while we are exploring options to have a long-term sustainability model for the SABC".

"These options include National Treasury's decision on the application by the SABC to reclassify its grant which would allow for part of its allocation to be used to pay Sentech for signal distribution services."

Malatsi says "While the SABC has been making steady progress towards improving its financial standing, the fact is that it has not been able to fully pay Sentech for services rendered. At the same time, Sentech is at risk of running out of cash due to the non-payment, a risk that may even affect other broadcasters".

"I am determined to prioritise the development and finalisation of the financial model for the SABC to ensure that it becomes sustainable, able to pay its creditors and to deliver on its core function of providing accessible, diverse, and impartial news, entertainment, and educational content to the public."

South Africa's broadcast regulator Icasa says it is unaware of StarSat court action after its shutdown raid while angry subscribers demand refunds

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's broadcasting regulator says it's not aware of any further legal action from the shuttered and unlicensed pay-TV operator StarSat which went off-air last week following a search and seizure raid by Icasa, while thousands of StarSat subscribers who lost their service demand refunds and say they're not being helped.

After broadcasting unlicensed for more than a year since July 2023, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) did a search and seizure raid at the Midrand headquarters of the Chinese-run On Digital Media (ODM) on Wednesday last week, ripping out and confiscating equipment, servers and cables.

The regulator warned ODM since March this year that it had to stop and shut down its unlicensed pay-TV service by 18 September and to warn subscribers and stakeholders about it.

StarTimes which failed to renew ODM's pay-TV licence for StarSat in South Africa despite multiple warnings from Icasa, lost an urgent court interdict application to have Icasa's shutdown order be set aside. 

Earlier this month StarTimes's ODM said that it would be going back to court for a review. 

On Wednesday last week StarSat representatives also said that ODM's legal team was in court to contest Icasa's search and seizure raid and to have its equipment returned which also impacts StarTimes' pay-TV operations across the rest of Africa outside of South Africa that saw multiple TV channels go off its platform.

On Monday this week and again asked on Tuesday, Zanele Ntuli, Icasa spokesperson, told TVwithThinus the regulator isn't aware of any further legal action from ODM, StarSat or StarTimes regarding the shutdown order, or last week's raid.

In response to a media query seeking comment from ODM on Icasa saying it isn't aware of legal action over last week's search and seizure operation, the pay-TV operator through its Eclipse Communications crisis communications PR company, told TVwithThinus on Wednesday "the legal action in question involves StarTimes Media, the rightful owner of the equipment wrongfully seized by Icasa, not ODM or StarSat".

"StarTimes Media is currently challenging Icasa in court over the seizure of their equipment, for which

StarTimes Media has a valid licence, and this is the legal process underway."

Asked for clarity on the legal review, the pay-TV operator says "ODM has initiated a legal review in the High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, requesting the court to compel Icasa to review its licence renewal application".

"As of now, the court has not confirmed a date for the hearing. The core of the review is to address whether Icasa's actions regarding the licence termination were justified, particularly given ODM's ongoing renewal efforts."

Furious subscribers

Meanwhile, thousands of StarSat subscribers are furious about being cut off, having paid and not getting a service and battling to get hold of StarSat representatives and to get refunds.

Several angry StarSat subscribers told TVwithThinus that some had made double payments in October thinking that's why their service was suspended, that StarSat's customer call centre number doesn't work, that emails are not answered, wondering why StarSat never warned them in advance not to pay, and that they're now battling to get refunds.

On Monday and Tuesday TVwithThinus called the StarSat customer call centre number multiple times but it no longer rang and no longer went to call options. On Wednesday call options were restored and operators again answered.

ODM told TVwithThinus that its customer call centre "has been experiencing a higher-than-usual volume of calls, which is affecting response times. StarSat is working diligently to address as many customer queries as possible".

"At this point, adding an alternative number would not improve the situation," the company said.

"We encourage customers to consider emailing wecare@starsat.co.za and remain patient as we work to resolve the backlog."

The veteran consumer expert Wendy Knowler said "StarSat subscribers who have paid in advance, through for instance a debit order for the month of October and where there is no way they're getting a pay-TV service for their spend, StarSat's subscribers in South Africa are absolutely entitled to a refund".

"StarSat is definitely not entitled to hold on to that money."

Asked why it failed to warn subscribers that a shutdown was possible, ODM says it "chose not to communicate this potential disruption to subscribers, as we were confident in our appeal and did not wish to cause unnecessary alarm."

"We are currently engaged in legal proceedings with Icasa regarding this matter, and believe the shutdown of our service prior to a court ruling is premature."

ALSO READ: StarSat denies it will be shutting down in September after South Africa's broadcasting regulator Icasa revokes On Digital Media's pay-TV licence

ALSO READ: South Africa's broadcasting regulator warns that StarSat which failed to renew its pay-TV licence in time is operating illegally and should have shut down 18 September

ALSO READ: Half a million StarSat subscribers could be cut as On Digital Media that no longer has a licence defies South Africa's broadcasting regulator Icasa and says it 'will remain operational'

ALSO READ: Icasa and the police shuts down unlicensed On Digital Media's StarSat in raid on Midrand offices as staff huddle in prayer circles

ALSO READ: Unlicensed StarSat kept shutdown order secret for 6 months, says ‘recent order came as unexpected surprise’

ALSO READ: Unlicensed StarSat claims its not illegal, refuses to reveal shareholding

ALSO READ: Angry StarSat subscribers demand and are entitled to refunds

kykNET's Old Righteous Blues chosen as South Africa's entry for the 97th Academy Awards

by Thinus Ferreira

The small-town drama around a young man's attempt to restore the once-glorious Old Righteous Blues Christmas choir band to its former stature is South Africa's official Oscars entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 97th Academy Awards.

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) announced that the South African Academy Awards Selection Committee chose Old Righteous Blues, set and filmed in the Western Cape province, as South Africa's official Oscars entry after an extensive judging process, which included scored reviews and in-depth deliberations.

The NFVF doesn't want to release the names of the panel of judges comprising South Africa's Academy Awards Selection Committee.

In Old Righteous Blues a young man confronts the long-standing consequences of a bitter feud started by his father two decades earlier which had split the choir in two and divided the community. 

For twenty years, street battles ensued, families were torn apart, and loyalties were tested as the two rival bands claimed ownership of the town’s Kerskoor with destructive and violent consequences.

Old Righteous Blues has already won 11 awards at the kykNET Silwerskermfees film festival, Romford Film Festival 2024 and Panther City Film Festivals. 

Some of the awards include Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Silwerskermfees for Joshwin Dyson, Muneera Sallies snagging Best Director at the 2024 Romford Film Festival, Ayden Croy winning for Best Actor at the 2024 Romford Film Festival, and Stefan Erasmus winning the category of Best Supporting Actor at the 2024 Panther City Film Festival.

Distributed by Indigenous Film Distribution, Old Righteous Blues which was acquired by M-Net for kykNET (DStv 144) is based on an original idea by writer and producer Carol Shore.

Director Muneera Sallies says Old Righteous Blues is "an intense glimpse into the life of a young man, a family, and a community. More than that it is an intense glimpse into a journey and into the heart of brotherhood, tapping into immense stores of pain, love, dreams, and courage".

"I was drawn to this project from the very first moment I had first picked up the script. I was intrigued and captivated by the characters and their stories within this little community, so much so that I immediately decided to visit and experience the streets of Bo-Dorp Robertson."

Lebogang Mogoera, acting NFVF CEO, in a statement, says Old Righteous Blues "is a testament to the exceptional storytelling talent within South Africa".

"We are honoured to have Old Righteous Blues represent us on such a prestigious global platform, and we believe its universal themes of redemption, community, and overcoming the past will captivate audiences worldwide."

Nomsa Philiso, MultiChoice CEO for general entertainment, says "Old Righteous Blues is a powerful reflection of the complex and often painful dynamics of community, legacy and redemption".

"The film's setting is truly local and the mesmeric writing offers a unique and poignant South African perspective on unity and hope amidst division".

"MultiChoice is dedicated to telling African stories – produced and told by Africans – and taking them to the rest of the world, where they stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside other would-be Academy Award contenders."

Waldimar Pelser, M-Net channel director for premium channels, says "The world which unfolds in Old Righteous Blues is magical and unique to the rural Western Cape towns where the movie was filmed".

"The story highlights the richness of South African heritage, while also exploring universal themes of resilience and identity."

"These Christmas choir bands are vehicles for joy and hope which the film captures with grace, warmth and humour. We are thrilled for the teams involved that this beautiful movie will represent the best of South African film-making in the run-up to the Oscars in 2025."

The top 11 nominations in the Best International Feature Film category will be announced on 17 December 2024 and the final top 5 will be announced on 17 January 2025.