Conservation biologist Dr Steve Boyes on new National Geographic documentary film Ghost Elephants: 'We look for historical genetic connections'

by Thinus Ferreira

Just like the iconic scene from the first Jurassic Park movie, where a real T-Rex ends up in the visitor's centre main rotunda in its massive glory as a banner glides down, Dr Steve Boyes stands in front of a display of an elephant at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., in Ghost Elephants.

But he isn't after a dinosaur.

The South African National Geographic Explorer and conservation biologist is trying to track down a creature far more elusive. 

In Ghost Elephants, a new documentary film from acclaimed director Werner Herzog, Dr Steve Boyes - a real modern-day Indiana Jones - goes to the museum's rotunda, and later into its archives to extract a DNA sample, to examine "Henry", the largest elephant ever killed.

Directed, written and narrated by Werner Herzog, and produced by Ariel León Isacovitch and Herzog, Ghost Elephants is from Sobey Road Entertainment, The Roots Production Service and Skellig Rock.

Ghost Elephants is available on Disney+ and premieres on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182) on Wednesday, 11 March at 18:00 and in the forest of Angola, Dr Steve Boyes is determined to prove their existence.

With the film's release comes the coffee table book "Okavango and the Source of Life" by Dr Steve Boyes, which expands the journey beyond the documentary film, with more than 100 striking photographs, detailed maps, and Boyes’ personal reflections from years of gruelling expeditions to the Angolan headwaters of the Okavango. 

During the course of Ghost Elephants, Dr Steve Boyes and a crew travel into the mysterious Angola highlands searching for proof of the existence of a missing "tribe" of large elephants - part legend, part hope, part superstition and part of Africa's unsolved secrets: The ghost elephants of Lisima.

Teaming up with fellow National Geographic Explorer Kerllen Costa and three KhoiSan master trackers – Xui, Xui Dawid, and Kobus – they venture into a world where technology fails and that requires human eyes and human intuition to try and track down the potential living descendants of the largest land mammal ever recorded.

I had the opportunity to speak to Dr Steve Boyes about Ghost Elephants and got to ask him two questions.

"For National Geographic, this year is the 10th anniversary of the Okavango Wilderness Project," he says, giving a "bigger picture" overview of what he's been busy with.

"We have discovered and documented over 275 new species through science, new populations of endangered species up in these same highlands in Angola, working with the local Luchazi, the Chokwe and the Mbundu hunters and traditional leaders there," Dr Steve Boyes told me.

"So this is a long-term programme and we work across genetics, environmental DNA, detailed river surveys and storytelling to explain those findings to not just people in Angola and in Africa, but people globally, since science needs translation".

Seen done in Ghost Elephants, I also asked him to weigh in on modern humanity's ability to use things like supercomputers to do genetic analyses from a 70-year-old elephant skull and make genetic comparisons that help in these scientific quests and, although not out in the real world, aid scientists in finding proof of things we never would have been able to get before.

"We have the largest freshwater fish collection in the Southern hemisphere, so we can now employ new technology to help us. With one litre of water, we can tell you every single fish that's been in it during the last two weeks," he explains.

"Computers are allowing us to do this - taking air samples, taking water samples, we can tell you everything. So these databases we already use, and as computing power increases, our opportunities for analysis increase."

"What we're really doing is to look at all of the elephants across Africa - they're all split up now from each other, disjunct from each other."

"And we look at historical genetic connections, where corridors need to be created to connect them again, to see how these animals moved around 100 years ago. And all of that is told through genetics."

"Science advances," Dr Steve Boyes tells me.

"A lot of my expeditionary work, we consider ourselves as working for future scientists. We take simple water samples and have a water bank that we keep for scientists in 2050 who might be looking for something. The advance of science is moving really quickly."

Ghost Elephants is on Disney+ and premieres on National Geographic Wild (DStv 182) on Wednesday, 11 March at 18:00.

Gus O'Brien upped as new NBCUniversal International Networks boss from April

by Thinus Ferreira

Gus O'Brien is replacing Ken Bettsteller, with NBCUniversal Media Group moving him to president of International Networks and direct-to-consumer (DTC) from 1 April, as Ken Bettsteller is replaced and shifted to an advisory role.

NBCUniversal is also expanding Hendrik McDermott's scope, who has been leading Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Networks & DTC, to now oversee all international DTC operations as managing director for international DTC & EMEA, as well as Canada. 

NBCUniversal Networks & DTC runs the international versions of TV channels like Universal TV, Studio Universal, Telemundo, Bravo, DreamWorks and the aggregation service Universal+, which are available in South Africa on DStv through Canal+'s MultiChoice.

Matt Strauss, NBCUniversal Media Group chairman, in a statement in a press release, says, "Our International Networks & Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) portfolio brings some of our most beloved brands to audiences around the world, including a suite of popular networks, the hybrid linear/non-linear service Universal+, and the all-reality SVOD service Hayuu."

"Gus is a worthy successor to Ken Bettsteller – who has been a formidable leader in our company for over two decades – and I'm excited for Gus to bring his innovative leadership to the broader group, working with the international management team to further strengthen and support these brands."

Monsters In Africa: Why the continent waits for its own global fantasy and sci-fi breakthrough

by Thinus Ferreira

While Netflix's Squid Game did it for Asia and put Korea on the global map for genre content, the Nordics found success mining folklore, and Latin America booms with producing "telefantasy", the one continent that is still waiting for its local Wakanda-like breakthrough on the worldwide stage is Africa.

While Africa is rich in stories, folklore, writing talent and creativity, the execution and production in successfully birthing an African-type of Squid Game that garners global appeal has so far remained elusive.

In September 2024, MultiChoice's Showmax, which Canal+ is now shuttering, released Subterranea, Kenya's first-ever sci-fi series as a psychological thriller that never would have seen the light of day if it weren't for the African streaming service that took a big swing with the Nairobi-based Kibanda Pictures on the bunker-set series.

When it comes to quality, engrossing and smart science fiction and fantasy, home-made in Africa and resonating with global viewers, Nosipho Dumisa-Ngoasheng, says the lack of buzzed-about genre content is because Africa underestimates itself.

The South African writer, director and producer who co-founded Gambit Films, says, "I have many opinions on this".

She spoke as a panellist at the 8th Joburg Film Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she implored Africa's biz to take a new look at genre content and to take the risk with sci-fi and fantasy stories, and to start trying it out on a small scale.

While  Comic Con Cape Town is set for 30 April and Comic Con Africa 2026 is marked for 24 September in Johannesburg and while both fan-driven events on African soil have found success and support from sci-fi and fantasy lovers, the content and stars it rests on are primarily international. 

"This is for me where I think it's a case of 'don't under-estimate our audiences'. I think in this particular area, I do feel we have under-estimated our audiences," she says.

"2009's District 9 science fiction action film from Neill Blomkamp came out several years ago. If you asked me what film I wish I had been a part of, that would be it without a question," Dumisa-Ngoasheng noted.

"While it wasn't a South African production in that it wasn't a South African company or South African studio or anything like that, what it did highlight is that our audiences are absolutely hungry for it. Our audience absolutely wants it. And then nothing."

"When District 9 came out, I was absolutely convinced that it was the dawn of a new era - that something new was coming. We had big things we were pitching. We had all or spec sci-fi's. And then the conversations were always ''Our audiences don't understand it'. Which I don't believe."

"We've seen it time and time again - scifi and fantasy as genre work. I think the misconception and where we falter is in thinking it requires a crazy budget because it requires a crazy, massive world and everything is big."

"I think it comes back to the same thing about knowing what you won't compromise on. There is nothing wrong with starting small, for example, an Ex Machina. Her. These are grounded scifi's where yes, the budgets in Hollywood are spent on Joaquin Phoenix and so on but we don't have to do that."

"It takes a high concept, that is grounded with an element of these genres, that we slowly start to explore and that we start to play around with and take some risks. It's also a question of who do we take risks with? Who has already displayed an understanding of the genre?"

Dumisa-Ngoasheng says "What I also think sometimes happens if we are navigating and going into genres with partners who haven't necessarily attempted it even on a small scale, then there's a higher risk, as opposed to 'maybe they have shorts that have already been done in this way.' Maybe the story isn't so good but the technical is good - let's partner with a great storyteller or use a piece of IP to build the thing."

"I can't stress enough how I feel there's an audience, myself being one of those audience members, who are greatly underserved in the genres of sci-fi and fantasy. I mean fantasy! Africa's storytelling is grounded in fantastical stories but we never get to go there." 

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Netflix SA did nothing for One Piece season 2 to properly liaise with media. And now wants what, coverage?

by Thinus Ferreira

On Sunday, 8 March, just after having held a wonderful Netflix mixer event during the 8th Joburg Film Festival in Sandton, Netflix South Africa had a media premiere for the second season of One Piece at The Ostrich open-air event field near Philadelphia in Cape Town.

With some of the local actors and international stars flown in, Netflix's PR company Lucky 8 in South Africa did absolutely nothing to alert or communicate beforehand with several South African news media about the One Piece screening and fan event who would have done something, would have arranged interviews or would have, at the very least, been alerted and have liaised with Netflix about the show.

It's not the media's responsibility to know, with no information or communication, what is happening or what Netflix SA is doing or rolling out content-wise. 

Netflix has a publicity division tasked to contact and communicate with media, and pays money to PR companies, like Lucky 8 (previously it was Eclipse Communications) in South Africa to actually liaise, partner with, and talk and communicate about Netflix content and media events, screenings and interviews.

Why is this not happening properly?

After covering the 8th Joburg Film Festival last week extensively for several media outlets, including going to the Netflix mixer event in Sandton, it was hugely disappointing to discover that suddenly Netflix had a One Piece event as a screening, fan event and media premiere, but that nobody from Netflix or Lucky 8 ever bothered to reach out to tell about it.

At the most bare-bones basic level, the expectation is that people paid to communicate should do so - in whatever area - to liaise about what opportunities exist to work together, what interviews may or may not be possible and for the media to know what is going on and happening.

Now Netflix and a PR company like Lucky 8 presumably want coverage for One Piece's second season filmed in Cape Town, South Africa at Cape Town Film Studios. 

The big question is: How? From what? When? 

How are journalists and media supposed to create something or coverage, or the type of coverage that works for their publications, and presumably for Netflix SA and Netflix globally, from out of nothing and no communication beforehand? No heads-up? No PR at all?

American actors like Julia Rehwald and Joe Manganiello, Callum Kerr from Scotland, and writer and producer Joe Tracz were in South Africa for Sunday's One Piece screening, alongside the South African actors appearing in episodes of this second season like Alan Foulis, Jazzara Jaslyn, Anton Jeftha, Aiden Scott and Ty Keogh, who portrays the character of Dalton.

Where (when?) was the One Piece season 2 press day for South Africa? Were there round-table interviews held? Where are all those interviews, assuming there were press opportunities?

What happened at Sunday's One Piece event? What was said there by whom, and the cast?

Somebody who did attend on Sunday told me Jeanne D was the MC.

On Monday morning, I asked publicist Sethu Colo at Lucky 8 about this, but a day later haven't heard back anything.

I also asked several other journalists and media in South Africa - also covering film and TV sphere - if they had ever heard anything from, or about the second season of One Piece, beforehand, or about the screening. They all said no.

Sadly, it's once again an opportunity lost for Netflix, for One Piece as a production and a show, as well as for South African media, to try and cover something where it's win-win-win, instead of lose-lose-lose.

Swiss period drama Silent Rebellion wins 8th Joburg Film Festival as biz takes SA government to task: 'Films are not a side project - it's an economy' (full winners list)

by Thinus Ferreira

The Swiss period drama Silent Rebellion (À bras-le-corps) scooped both the Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography prizes at Saturday night's award ceremony for 2026's 8th Joburg Film Festival in Sandton, with Variations on a Theme (pictured) winning as Best African Film.

Directed by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo, the World War 2-era drama Silent Rebellion received a Nguni Horn alongside winners from a range of selections at the awards show held at the Theatre on the Square.

Veteran producer Harriet Gavshon was presented with the lifetime achievement award for her contribution over decades to the South African TV and film industry.

Tim Mangwedi, founder and director of the Joburg Film Festival, said he "wanted to acknowledge the context we are all working in".

"The South African film and television industry has been under pressure for a while."

Addressing the South African government, Tim Mangwedi said the Joburg Film Festival will continue "in a way that sustainable, that is advocating for an industry environment that works. It means partnerships that work. It means that films are not a side project - it's an economy. It's a real business. It's a serious business."

His remarks came as South Africa's government still seems to do little about the shambolic state of the country's film rebate system, which sees international producers no longer opting to film here, costing jobs and large projects, while local producers are also starved in rebates they quality for.

The government department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) owes the sector over R600 billion in unpaid film rebates which were approved and haven't done any new further adjudications for producers to qualify for funding since February 2024. 

On Saturday night "Shirley Adonisi, channel director for local entertainment at Canal+'s MultiChoice, on stage said "African storytelling is one of the most exciting creative forces anywhere in the world".

Shirley Adonisi said that new MultiChoice owner Canal+ will continue to invest in African content and will remain a supporter of the Joburg Film Festival "because our missions are aligned".

"We want to see African and South African films take up more space - not quietly but boldly, the way we do it as Africans."

"We know that local content matters, local languages matter, authenticity matters, the presentation matters. Our audiences want to see themselves fully and truthfully on the screen and we are committed to delivering that across our channels and our broader entertainment platforms."

"We continue to invest in new productions, telenovelas, miniseries, films, documentaries and many more. These are not just shows - they are jobs, playing grounds, springboards and cultural stepping stones."

"We will continue to unearth new talent and emerging voices, and broadcast stories that shift perspectives and open possibilities."

Here are the 8th Joburg Film Festival category winners:

Best Feature Film - Silent Rebellion

Best African Film - Variations On A Theme

Best Cinematography - Silent Rebellion

Best Edit - Broken Voices

Best Documentary - Let Them Be Seen

Best Short Film - Stero

Best Student Film - The Silent Inheritance

Young Voices Competition Winner - Umxoxiso

Special Recognition - Harriet Gavshon

Show ax: Canal+ shutters MultiChoice's flopped Showmax video streaming service

by Thinus Ferreira

After acquiring MultiChoice, Canal+ is shutting down MultiChoice's hugely loss-making Showmax video streaming service after 11 years.

Canal+ announced the "discontinuation" of Showmax that MultiChoice relaunched two years ago in partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal. 

Canal+ said it had done a "comprehensive review of its streaming activities". The shuttering comes after Maxime Saada, Canal+ CEO, in January said on an investors' call that Showmax was a flop.

According to Canal+, the decision to axe Showmax "was made by the Showmax board of directors and reflects the continued focus of MultiChoice, a Canal+ company, on financial discipline and investment optimisation, in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive global streaming environment".

"The substantial annual losses experienced by the Showmax business have proved unsustainable. The decision to phase out Showmax reflects our focus on building a sustainable, competitive business for the long term in an increasingly demanding global streaming environment."

Canal+ is unable to let go of any staff working at MultiChoice for Showmax, since one of the agreements with the Competition Competition of South Africa for the takeover of MultiChoice was that there won't be any retrenchments for three years.

"The decision to discontinue Showmax services will not involve any retrenchments," Canal+ says in its statement. "The group will be engaging and supporting employees through various transition options."

Ending Showmax is, according to Canal+, "also consistent with the ambition of MultiChoice to deploy its in-house large-scale streaming platform capable of meeting the expectations of African and international consumers".

"Canal+ will continue to invest in premium content for MultiChoice subscribers, technological innovation and strategic partnerships to consolidate its leadership in the African entertainment market."

"Further details regarding our expanded content offering and platform upgrades will be shared in due course. We want to reassure our Showmax subscribers that they are our priority as we evolve our services to deliver a superior streaming experience."

Showmax was launched in August 2015 and relaunched in February 2024 in partnership with NBCUnviversal holding a 30% interest in the venture. 

Since then MultiChoice and NBCUniversal have collectively poured billions of rand in the loss-making streamer that failed to reach the extremely ambitious subscriber growth targets that MultiChoice promised to investors before launch.

MultiChoice execs reaffirm commitment to authentic storytelling at 8th Joburg Film Festival: 'Quality doesn't only come from budget'

by Thinus Ferreira

The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) held its MultiChoice Talent Factory Day at 2026's 8th Joburg Film Festival in Johannesburg, where MultiChoice executives reaffirmed that whatever is happening after Canal+'s takeover of the pay-TV company, authentic storytelling and authenticity in on-screen work will always continue to matter immensely.

Held at the Theatre on the Square in Sandton, on stage were the MultiChoice executives Tebogo Matlawa, head of scripted content: middle & mass South Africa; Waldimar Pelser, director of premium channels; Shirley Adonisi, channel director for local entertainment; and Tracy-Ann Van Rooyen, executive head of content strategy.

Tebogo Matlawa said "The question with each show that is pitched is always which local market it will satisfy first".

"Think local, be global. If it doesn't have a market here or in our African territories, it's a no-go. But sometimes you come across a story and you immediately know it can travel."

Shirley Adonisi said "At the core of it is authenticity".

" If our audiences do not identify with the characters or the stories we create, then that is an epic fail on our part. It's not about how much the show costs. It's about how rich the story is and how people connect with it and say, 'that looks like me'."

The panel discussion also explored how the changing media landscape is reshaping the way stories are developed and consumed.

Tracy-Ann van Rooyen said "When you are thinking about content strategy, you can't think about it in isolation".

"You have to believe in your story first and know that it has a market. Scale means opportunity, and for African creators, that opportunity is growing."

Waldimar Pelser noted that the creative direction when commissioning content remains rooted in local insight.

"Commissioning across Africa remains locally led," he said.

"Finding the right stories to back is a team sport, and we rely on storytellers and producers to help us understand our audiences."

"Quality doesn't only come from budget. It comes from the quality of a story, the authenticity of a story, and whether it speaks to somebody specific."

This is the fourth consecutive year that MultiChoice is a partner of the Joburg Film Festival, with MultiChoice Talent Factory alumni who premiered the film Keletso at the festival this week.

The Keletso screening highlighted the growing impact of the film academy and showcased how graduates are moving from training environments into professional filmmaking and bringing their work to major industry platforms.

Soli Philander dead at 65

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African actor, presenter, director, comedian and entertainment star Soli Philander died on Wednesday in his home in Woodstock, Cape Town. He was 65.

The cause of Soli Philander's death is not yet known.

A family friend, Basheer Losper, confirmed his passing.

Soli Philander leaves behind four biological children - sons Caleb and Ethan and daughters Danya and Kyla - and also parented a foster daughter, Lauren, whom he and his ex-wife Toni helped through her final school year. He announced his divorce in 2015.

Soli Philander's most famous TV role was for as presenter of the Afrikaans music quiz show Liriekeraai for several seasons during the start-up years of kykNET (DStv 144), as well as the game show Vat 'n Kans.

Often uncredited, Solly Philander was the body inside the suit of the tortoise Timothy Traddle, a beloved character in the SABC kids series Kideo.

Soli Philander was also a presenter of the e.tv show Let's Fix It which ended badly following a fight with e.tv and him slamming the channel at the time for "unethical behaviour".

Soli Philander was the presenter of the South African version of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, and performed on stage in numerous plays in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the USA, Sweden, eSwatini and Namibia.

Soli Philander had acting roles in series ranging from kykNET's Arendsvlei and Projek Dina to M-Net's Devil's Peak, SABC2's Parlement Parlement, as well as mini-series Diamond Hunters and Hooten & the Lady, as well as Dream School SA, Nie Vanwee die Duisternis , Off the Record, Reflections and Dot en Kie.

In film, Solly Philander appeared in Verkeerde Nommer, The Road to Mecca, Die Prince van Pretoria, Drumbeats, Kaalgat tussen die Daisies, Dias Santana, Snaaks Genoeg, Far from the Castle, as well as The Umbrella Men: Escape from Robben Island.

Born Silamour Philander in Elsies River, and becoming just Solly for his stand-up comedy work and one-man shows, Solly started his career at The Space Theatre in Cape Town in plays ranging from Political Joke and The Car Cemetery to The Final Sting of the Dying Wasp and Telling Tales.

Soli Philander was involved in children's educational theatre for years. As playwright Solly Philander wrote Take Two, Woeskroes, Hotnotsgot and The Passion Gap.

Solly Philander wrote, directed and played in the cabaret Rosie September, and was a prolific writer and director. He had a show on Cape Talk for two years, and was heard on the Afrikaans radio station Punt Geselsradio.

2026's 8th Joburg Film Festival opens and proclaims all filmmaker views welcome: 'A space where politics and artistry meet'

By Thinus Ferreira

Following the brouhaha around whether art should be divorced from politics - and talking about it - at the just-concluded Berlinale, the organisers of the 8th Joburg Film Festival at Tuesday night's opener were adamant that all voices and viewpoints are welcome, noting that African filmmaking is inherently political.

Hundreds of filmmakers, TV and film executives, distributors, actors and media converged on the Theatre on the Square to watch the sold-out festival opener Laundry, written and directed by Zamo Mkhwanazi as a searing Apartheid-era drama. 

In the audience were Nigeria, Japan and France's ambassadors to South Africa, as well as executives from Canal+ after its recent acquisition of MultiChoice like Laurent Sicouri, head of cinema and series for Canal+ International.

Around 138 films will unspool this week, of which many carry political themes and have evocative titles like Tshililo waha Muzila's documentary A Little Black Man from Congo (Negrito Del Congo).

"Of course, this festival happens at the moment when the world feels anything but nuanced - at the moment when artists are being asked: Should you speak or should you stay silent?" said Nhlanhla Ndaba in his opening remarks on stage before the screening of Laundry.

"At the Berlinale we witnessed a fierce debate about whether filmmakers should engage in politics. It was suggested that artists should stay away from politics because films are a counterweight to politics."

"The Joburg Film Festival has always been a space where politics and artistry meet, where the African continent and the world connect, where politics are just but another story. Where we don't pretend that storytelling happens in a vacuum."

"The moment we stop reflecting the world in all its beauty and in all its brokenness, it's the moment we stop being relevant."

"This past year the South African film industry has faced a crisis that tested out very foundation. As of January 2026 the department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC) owes our industry over R600 million in outstanding rebates."

"The last adjudication panel meeting took place in March 2024, that's two years ago. Two years of camera operators, grips, sound engineers, producers, make-up artists staring atapproved projects and payments that have simply not arrived."

"Just weeks ago, hundreds of filmworkers marched to parliament under the banner 'Save SA film jobs' and at the state of the nation address, the creative sector was barely acknowledged. President Cyril Ramaphosa made no mention of the film rebate crisis. No plan to rescue investor confidence, no timeline for intervention," Nhlanhla Ndaba said.

"While rebates have been delayed, our spirit has not. While international productions have abandoned South Africa for Malta and Portugal, where incentive programmes function efficiently, our filmmakers have not abandoned their craft."

"While we wait for a system that seems to have forgotten us, we keep telling stories," Nhlanhla Ndaba noted.

"It's an industry, told that they don't matter, who are standing here, refusing to die. No amount of bureaucratic dysfunction can ever take that away."

Tarryn Joffe, JFF manager, said the festival "recognises the courage of filmmakers to create work, staying with the story through uncertainty, bringing it to an audience".

Nicola Auret, MultiChoice's executive head of programming, caused a jolt when she shrieked on stage after swatting away a flying insect that landed on her hair and said "The world is restless and reshaping itself in real time".

"Globally, the entertainment industry is under enormous pressure. Markets are shifting, traditional business models are being rewritten, and the rise of AI is changing everything for us. It's changing how stories are made and its changing how people view our stories and discover them."

"We cannot control these pressures, but I believe African filmmakers know how to find rhythm in chaos. We know how to create despite of it, and sometimes because of it and that matters right now."

"Africans are creative. We are resilient, and we have a sense of community that surrounds us that makes things possible that cannot be done elsewhere."

Producer Cait Pansegrouw and JFF jury member, told TVwithThinus alongside Tuesday's red carpet that "for me, film is inherently political".

"People don't give enough thought to the fact that with the rise of fascism, freedom of expression is in real danger and we should absolutely be talking about everything that we want to talk about and be asking really tough questions".