Five Takeaways From the Joburg Film Festival and JBX Content Market: ‘What a Time to Be Alive in Africa’

Guy Lodge Film Critic An assortment of familiar life-as-sport metaphors get a healthy workout in “The Beautiful Game,” a story of underdog athletes for whom winning may not be everything, though it’s a welcome distraction from greater obstacles. For many viewers, Thea Sharrock‘s cheery Netflix entertainment may serve as an introduction to the real-life event on which it’s based: the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament bringing together displaced or dispossessed players from nearly 50 countries, playing not merely for a trophy but for a second shot at life.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's section on the Buckingham Palace website has been significantly reduced in a major change.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have now found themselves next to Prince Andrew on the family site, who has faced criticism for his friendship with convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein. However, insiders say this is not a snub, reports the Mirror.The big update on the website also sees Harry's 2,700-word bio and Meghan's 1,300-word bio swapped for a sweet joint 500-word bio.

Naman Ramachandran Four African screenwriters will pitch stories spanning genres at the 15th edition of Series Mania in Lille, France. Pitching this year are Kelly-Eve Koopman (South Africa) with urban fantasy “Facing the Mountain”; Moreetsi Gabang (Botswana) with crime drama “Outreach”; Tiah Beye (Senegal/Côte d’Ivoire) with comedy-drama “Brouteure” (“The Yahoo Girl”); and Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya) with political satire “Serikali Saidia!” The shows are under the aegis of the AuthenticA Series Lab, a training program for African episodic screenwriters from Realness Institute.

Call the Midwife’s Olly Rix has welcomed an adorable new family member, amid rumours he is dating co-star Helen George. The star recently left the BBC show, after his character Matthew packed up and left for New York leaving behind his on-screen wife Trixie, played by Helen. But he revealed he's now marking new ‘beginnings’ as he shared snaps of his new puppy Nellie.

Call The Midwife stars Helen George and Olly Rix stepped out for lunch together amid rumours they are dating.The duo, accompanied by Helen's best friend Ryan Speakman, enjoyed a cosy double date at a pub, enjoying a traditional Sunday roast. Captured arriving and departing in a taxi, they put on an affectionate display, which included a stroll with Helen's dog before settling into the pub in Kensington, conveniently close to Olly's residence.

Thrill seekers are getting the chance to trail run, kayak and mountain bike their way through spectacular landscapes in Greater Manchester this summer.

Christopher Vourlias The anticipated goldrush for African creators sparked by Netflix’s 2016 entry into the market hasn’t entirely come to fruition, though the influx of investment from local and global streaming platforms has nevertheless been transformative for Africa’s screen industries. Budgets, production values and outputs are rising, and breakout hits — such as Netflix’s Nigerian thriller “The Black Book” and South African teen drama “Blood & Water” — highlight the power of global streaming services to deliver African stories to audiences around the world.

Thinus Ferreira Guest Contributor Producing successful Black female-fronted comedy in South Africa is no joke but Black female producers and writers Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt and Zoe Ramushu are determined to bring about change in front of and behind the lens. Their film “Real Estate Sisters” screened this week at the 6th Joburg Film Festival in South Africa.

Christopher Vourlias Wendy Bednarz’s “Yellow Bus,” which follows a mother’s quest for justice after suffering an unthinkable tragedy, won the prize for best film at the Joburg Film Festival during an award ceremony Saturday night at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg. The film, which world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, is set in an unnamed Arabian Gulf country and follows an Indian family that endures a tragedy when their daughter is neglected on a school bus in the sweltering desert heat.

Christopher Vourlias As South Africa marks three decades since its first democratic elections, a historic moment that dismantled the apartheid system and ushered in Black-majority rule, the country is at a crossroads. Inequality is rife. Crippling blackouts have pushed the economy to a tipping point.

Christopher Vourlias Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions, which recently wrapped the action-thriller “G20” for Amazon Studios and MRC Film in Cape Town, is planning to return to South Africa to film the true story of a young African refugee’s improbable journey to the U.S., the company’s head of film production and development, Melanie Clark, revealed this week at the Joburg Film Festival. Developing the film with a working title of “The Refugee,” Clark said Davis and Tennon’s production banner is “actively working on [it] with some local partners and are in the process of figuring out how to shoot it” in South Africa, adding that “we do plan to shoot that here.” The veteran production executive described the project as “the true story of a young Sierra Leonean boy who lost his mother in [the country’s civil war] and found himself alone, because no family would take him in any refugee camp.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a big one that multiple studios are bidding on right nowfrom Platinum Dunes: Wolf Night.

Christopher Vourlias Akin Omotoso, the filmmaker behind Disney Plus’ Giannis Antetokounmpo biopic “Rise,” has been attached to direct “The Plot to Save South Africa,” an adaptation of Justice Malala’s gripping book about a 1990s white supremacist plot that almost plunged the young democracy into civil war. “The Plot to Save South Africa” will be produced by Johannesburg-based production outfit Ochre Moving Pictures, which signed a deal with Netflix last year to adapt multiple books for the streaming service alongside Omotoso.

Love Island All Stars wrapped last week, and already its stars are back to reality. Although some islanders have made friends for life in the South African villa, there seems to be bad blood between others, which they've brought with them back to the UK. Here's a look at the stars who haven't followed each other on social media, indicating there's neither friendship nor romance on the horizon...

The security of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie caused a lot of drama for King Charles. The furore came before the issue of royal protection came into focus when Prince Harry decided to sue the Home Office over changes to his security level during his UK visits.

Love Island star Callum Jones has dropped huge hints that he is no longer with fellow islander Jess Gale, after the duo reached the final together earlier this month. The couple, who initially met on the 2020 series of Love Island, hit it off during their second round in the villa and ended up placing second, despite many fans wishing Callum had rekindled his romance with ex Molly Smith. Callum and Jess ended up finishing in second place on the first All Star series, with Molly Smith and Tom Clare taking home the crown, and the 50k cash prize.

Love Island All Stars has come to a close, with the series being criticised by fans for not having many actual 'All Stars' in the cast. However, some former Islanders have revealed that they were supposed to be on the show but didn't end up entering the villa, each for various reasons. While some are upset, others don't seem too bothered.

Rochelle Humes was quickly asked about her sister Sophie Piper's time on Love Island: All Stars as she returned to the helm of This Morning. And she also revealed somewhat of a 'snub' from her younger sibling's new beau after they met for the first time.

Thinus Ferreira Guest Contributor When the film biz jetset lands at O.R Tambo airport for this week’s 6th Joburg Film Festival they’d be amazed by a little-known story of how the airport’s namesake was the mastermind behind a plan to recruit ordinary British working-class volunteers to travel to South Africa and detonate pamphlet bombs in the 1970s during the height of Apartheid. The fascinating story has been made into a thrilling documentary by director Gordon Main, “London Recruits,” featuring interviews with those who went, interspersed with Super 8 archive footage and dramatic reenactments. It is the festival opener.

Christopher Vourlias Following on the heels of a successful post-pandemic reboot one year ago, the Joburg Film Festival kicks off its sixth edition on Feb. 27, with the glitzy capital of South Africa’s media and entertainment industry showcasing a selection of top talents from the host country and across the African continent.