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The major cast for King Shaka has been locked in as Showtime gears up to begin production on the epic series inspired by the life of Zulu's greatest monarch King Shaka. A legendary warrior king who engraved his name in the sands of time by utilizing unique battle techniques combined with strategic alliances, King Shaka built Zulu into a formidable kingdom revered across boarders in its prime. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Mustafa Shakir, Terry Pheto, and Lerato Mvelase are the latest cast additions unveiled by Showtime. They will be joining previously announced Charles Babalola who has a big shoe to fill in the lead titular role.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Oz) and Mustafa Shakir (Luke Cage) are set as leads opposite Charles Babalola in Showtime’s King Shaka drama series. Additionally, Terry Pheto (Tsotsi) and Lerato Mvelase (Justice Served) will recur in the series executive produced by Antoine Fuqua.

Rooted in actual events, King Shaka tells the story of the Zulu Empire founder Shaka (Babalola) and his unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast stretches of Africa in the early 19th century to transform his power into legend, on par with history’s most seminal figures. The outcast son of a Zulu Chief, Shaka is a visionary who is prophesized to become a king like none before him. In ferocious battles that test the body and soul, in alliances that test the bonds of love and friendship, a complex sociological system plays out that renders the human cost front and center, for the victors as well as the vanquished,...

"We live in the shadows, and today we come into the light... Your justice belongs to privileged elite, but we're going to change that." Great speech to kick off this intense thriller. Netflix has revealed a trailer for Justice Served, an intense South African series about a hi-jacking at a court house intended as a form of activism against the wealthy elite. Here's the pitch: An enigmatic Freedom Fighter, and his followers, who have a secret agenda, hi-jack a courthouse to let the public decide if the murder accused should be executed, setting the world on fire, and throwing the lives of everyday people into chaos. Sounds pretty damn cool, right? The series stars Hlomla Dandala, Morné Visser, Pallance Dladla, Alex McGregor, Lerato Mvelase, Dineo Rasedile, Panch Gasela, and Anton Jeftha. This is a very short trailer with very fast flashes of footage, but I dig the look of the...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

The 2015 Portland Film Festival is Oregon’s largest film event of the year, with 80 narrative and documentary feature films and 134 short films selected out of 3500 Submissions.

This weeklong extravaganza also includes over 75 Master Classes, Two Lifetime Achievement Tributes, and an unprecedented live event featuring Several Thousand Festivalgoers As Extras in a record-setting Zombie Day Event.

Los Angeles – August 13, 2015 – Portland Film Festival announced today the feature film competition programs, opening and closing screenings, music and midnight sections, tribute presentations, northwest, and special screenings for the 2015 Portland Film Festival. The 3rd Annual festival is a weeklong event of 214 screenings of feature length and short films from around the world, red carpet world premieres, tributes to filmmaking legends, more than 50 hours of professional workshops, nightly after-parties and more.

The third annual Portland Film Festival will take place September 1 – 7th, 2015, in Portland, Oregon, at seven venues throughout the city,...

A 12-year-old girl struggles to protect her family as her stepfather descends into alcoholism and her mother becomes increasingly ill, in a small town full of prejudice and hostility.

The determination of love is key in this moving drama from South Africa.

We follow young schoolgirl Chanda (Khomotso Manyaka), who is forced to become the lynchpin of her disease-stricken family. As the story begins, we see Chanda in a funeral home, choosing a coffin for her dead baby sister as her mother, Lillian (Lerato Mvelase), lies ill at home. Things don't get much easier for the little...

Chicago – According to multiple reports from the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, Oliver Schmitz’s artfully lensed, sensitively acted film received one of the warmest receptions. Set in a modern South African village, “Life, Above All” is one of several recent pictures aiming to illustrate that an HIV-positive diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. It’s a film of grand statements delivered with quiet power.

Like Ramin Bahrani, Schmitz is extraordinarily gifted at eliciting naturalistic performances from untrained actors. At the heart of “Life” is Khomotso Manyaka, a child actress devoid of any self-conscious mannerisms to indicate that she is, in fact, acting. Manyaka’s work is beautiful, but Schmitz’s direction is the key to her success. By allowing his young star to freely inhabit her character, he avoids the usual pitfalls that occur when an overly ambitious director is paired with a blank slate. Schmitz seems to know precisely...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

New Year’s Eve - Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher

The Sitter - Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Sam Rockwell

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (limited) - Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy

Movie of the Week

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Stars: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy

The Plot: In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley (Oldman) is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6′s echelons.

The Buzz: Great title, great cast, great premise. Sold, sold and sold. Gary Oldman is too cool for school. I can’t wait to see this one. On top of the awesomeness that is Oldman, the film also boasts a bevy of heavy hitters in Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, and Mark Strong. I enjoy all of these actors a great deal, so regarding the cast, this film looks super solid.

We have an exclusive featurette for Life, Above All, which will be released in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack December 6. Click on the video player below to go behind-the-scenes with director Oliver Schmitz on this South African drama.

Click to watch Exclusive: The Community!

Just after the death of her newly-born sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee. Sensing that the gossip stems from prejudice and superstition, Chanda leaves home and school in search of her mother and the truth. Directed by Oliver Schmitz (Paris, je t'aime) and based on the award-winning novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Allan Stratton.

Special Features:

The Making of Life, Above All

Life, Above All was released July 15th, 2011 and stars Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane, Lerato Mvelase, Harriet Lenabe, Aubrey Poolo, Tinah Mnumzana,...

Chicago – As long as one person is inflicted with HIV, or full-blown AIDS, the crisis will never be averted, despite less of a profile in America and Europe. Africa is still in the midst of dealing with the epidemic, and Khomotso Manyaka portrays a symbol of that struggle in the enlightening “Life, Above All.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Manyaka plays a 12 year old girl, forced to care for her entire family once the disease overtakes her mother. Her journey through this situation becomes a symbol for all of Africa, and the world, as rejection from friends and fellow villagers force her to expose uncover secrets in searching for the mother that is forced into exile. Manyaka’s natural performance, both innocent and strong, represents a simple plea for humanity during a moment of truth.

Manyaka is Chanda, a bright and sensible soul in the midst of lower middle class circumstances and family distress.

Chicago – The spectre of AIDS seems to have diminished, but the continent of Africa still has a huge problem fighting the disease. Director Oliver Schmitz (”Paris, Je T’Aime”) focuses his lens on this physical and cultural crisis in “Life, Above All.”

The film is a fictional story based on the novel, “Chanda’s Secret,” about a young South African girl (portrayed in the film by Khomotso Manyaka) whose mother is ostracized from their village because she contracts AIDS. Chanda is determined to find where her mother has gone, and sets out on a journey that reveals the truth of the cultural attitude toward the deathly disease.

Khomotso Manyaka as Chanda and Lerato Mvelase as Chanda’s Mother in ‘Life, Above All’

Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classic

HollywoodChicago interviewed director Oliver Schmitz and the young teenage actress who portrayed Chanda, Khomotso Manyaka, during a promotional visit for their new film.

Title: Life, Above All Director: Oliver Schmitz Starring: Khomotso Manyaka, Lerato Mvelase, Aubrey Poolo, Keaobaka Makanyane, Harriet Lenabe A debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and the closing night gala presentation at the recent Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Oliver Schmitz’s “Life, Above All” is a well constructed, emotionally rich, issues-oriented drama that unfolds through the perspective of a determined young South African girl. Based on Allan Stratton’s respected novel “Chanda’s Secrets”, the movie should receive modest embrace in arthouse and specialty markets drawn to foreign films, especially given the gravity and unfortunately enduring topicality of the tough circumstances with which its grown-up-too-soon protagonist grapples. In a dust-ridden village on the outskirts...

Title: Live, Above All Directed By: Oliver Schmitz Written By: Dennis Foon, from Allan Stratton’s novel, ‘Chandra’s Secrets’ Cast: Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane, Harriet Lenabe, Lerato Mvelase, Tinah Mnumzana Screened at: Sony, NYC, 6/23/11 Opens: July 15, 2011 Some words are more taboo than the usual four-letter designations, particularly since the movies have made the latter commonplace. Think of these terms: death, died, cancer, AIDS. More often than not, a person has not died but ‘passed away’ or ‘passed’ or ‘is with Jesus’ or ‘is an angel.’ Even worse, kids are sometimes told that their deceased father is ‘asleep.’ As for cancer, this term was verboten to a greater extent...

See new Life, Above All clips; the South African drama directed by Iliver Schmitz and the countries Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film. We have three clips from the drama starring Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane and Lerato Mvelase. Life Above All is written by Dennis Foon based on the international award winning novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Allan Stratton. Also in Life, Above All are Tina Mnumzana, Audrey Poolo and Mapaseka Mathebe. Just after the death of her newly-born sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee...

See new Life, Above All clips; the South African drama directed by Iliver Schmitz and the countries Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film. We have three clips from the drama starring Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane and Lerato Mvelase. Life Above All is written by Dennis Foon based on the international award winning novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Allan Stratton. Also in Life, Above All are Tina Mnumzana, Audrey Poolo and Mapaseka Mathebe. Just after the death of her newly-born sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee...

See new Life, Above All clips; the South African drama directed by Iliver Schmitz and the countries Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film. We have three clips from the drama starring Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane and Lerato Mvelase. Life Above All is written by Dennis Foon based on the international award winning novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Allan Stratton. Also in Life, Above All are Tina Mnumzana, Audrey Poolo and Mapaseka Mathebe. Just after the death of her newly-born sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee...

See new Life, Above All clips; the South African drama directed by Iliver Schmitz and the countries Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film. We have three clips from the drama starring Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane and Lerato Mvelase. Life Above All is written by Dennis Foon based on the international award winning novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Allan Stratton. Also in Life, Above All are Tina Mnumzana, Audrey Poolo and Mapaseka Mathebe. Just after the death of her newly-born sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee...

London -- The South African Academy Award selection committee and the National Film and Video Foundation (Nfvf) have picked "Life, Above All" as the country's official candidate for Best Foreign Language Film.

Directed by Oliver Schmitz, the film stars Lerato Mvelase, Harriet Manamela and Khomotso Manyaka and is based on the novel "Chanda's Secret" by Allan Stratton.

It details the story of a young girl who fights the fear and shame that has poisoned her community predominantly in Northern Sotho. It bowed during this year's Festival de Cannes.