From Monday, 18 February, 18 of the best recent short films made by AFDA students from their Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth campuses will be live on Showmax.

Teresa Passchier, CEO of AFDA, says, "AFDA, Africa’s number one school for the creative economy, is proud to kickstart this exciting and meaningful journey with Showmax and AFDA students, ensuring emerging young African filmmakers’ voices are heard and given a platform."

"It’s ground-breaking to share young, local, culturally relevant content on the same platform as Hollywood blockbusters. I am certain that this unique initiative will serve to boost and develop the African film industry and the careers of many young South African and African students alike," Passchier adds.

Included in the short films coming to Showmax are award-winners Junior and O-Puncha. Junior, directed by Bert Dijkstra, picked up the Audience Award in the Made in South Africa Competition at the shnit Worldwide Shortfilmfestival Awards 2017. O-Puncha, directed by Adam Hansen, won two awards at the fifth annual Eldorado Film Festival: Best Student Made Short and Best Editing.

Another film is Sicela Amanzi, directed by Mlu Godola, which touches on the subject of water shortage. The film’s heroine, Zoleka, is a woman forced to go to extreme lengths when a small community’s only source of water unexpectedly collapses. 

Candice Fangueiro, head of content for Showmax, adds, "There’s an immense depth of filmmaking talent in Africa and it’s a privilege to be able to give that talent a home and a platform."

"Showmax is becoming part of the fabric of film and TV production in Africa and, importantly, we’re doing this as a partner rather than just as a consumer. This is a key competitive advantage of being local and something we aim to continue to work on," Fangueiro says.

AFDA is an academy award-winning institution founded in 1994, and the first and only African film school to win an Oscar for the Best Foreign Student Film in 2006 for the postgraduate film Elalini, directed by Tristan Holmes.

The full list of AFDA short films coming to Showmax is as follows:


For more information, visit www.afda.co.za. You can also follow AFDA on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.