News

Format

BBC Studios has licensed the immensely popular “Top Gear” format to Finland’s Nelonen channel and Ruutu streaming service to create a Finnish adaptation of the long-running and Emmy-winning series. The Finnish adaptation will be presented by comedian, musician and author Ismo Leikola, former elite Ice hockey winger Teemu Selänne and actor Christoffer Strandberg. It will air in the spring of 2024.

Set in the world of cars and driving, the show will see Leikola, Selänne and Strandberg compete in various car-related challenges to determine who among them is the ultimate driver.

The license to Finland is the 11th adaptation of the format globally. “Top Gear” began in the U.K. in 1977, where it has run for 33 seasons. However, the U.K. version has been paused after host Andrew Flintoff was involved in an accident on the show’s test track in December 2022.

Appointment

Keshet International’s British production arm Keshet U.

"Some day… you will rule over all other kings." South Africa's Mzansi Magic has revealed an official trailer for an epic new series debuting in 2023 called Shaka iLembe. This is one of the first large scale series made by Africans about Africa's own history - telling the story of the making of the iconic African King. It's set in the 1700s and follows him from childhood to his reign. "With ambitions of making a series as epic and vast as Game of Thrones, we want to tell the story of the Nguni peoples who migrated to below the Pongola river and ruled over this verdant land. With 3 action packed seasons mapped out, we hope to breathe life into the kings and queens, warriors and witches, spies, slavers, marauders and traders who lived, loved and fought for this land." The series stars Nomzamo Mbatha, who plays Queen Nandi, the revered mother of Shaka,...

Exclusive: Showmax content chief Yolisa Phahle has revealed how co-producing with international partners has helped the South Africa-based streamer compete with fierce SVoD competition, as a first trailer for its epic fantasy drama Blood Psalms is today unveiled. You can watch it here below.

Blood Psalms, from creators Layla Swart and Jahmil X.T. Qubeka from Yellowbone Entertainment, is a big budget co-production with France’s Canal+ — the latest in several collaborations between the companies — and is billed as Showmax’s “biggest and most ambitious series, completely unlike any other African series you’ve ever seen” by Nomsa Philiso, Executive Head of Programming at the streamer’s parent MultiChoice. The fantasy drama, shot entirely in African languages, has touches of Game of Thrones, set 11,000 years ago in ancient Africa in a world of warring factions and magic.

The synopsis reads: “In Ancient Africa, one thousand days after the fall of Atlantis,...

Casting

Nomzamo Mbatha (“Coming 2 America”) is set to star in period drama “Shaka Ilembe” about the iconic African king. The series is set in 1700s and will also star Lemogang Tsipa and newcomer Ntando Zondi, who will both play Shaka at different ages, Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingiswayo and Senzo Radebe as King Senzangakhona.

Mbatha, who will play Queen Nandi, Shaka’s mother, will also executive produce. “I am honoured to bring the giant that is Queen Nandi to life,” she said. “History will remember those who informed its people of where we come from, to better understand who we are. I am fortunate to be part of a project that is much bigger than ourselves and to tell this story in our own language. Impi iyeza!”

The series comes from MultiChoice and Bomb Productions.

Screen Summit

Wales is set to host an inaugural screen summit showcasing the film...

In this beautifully shot but underwhelming story, a black-white duo enter the gruelling Dusi canoe marathon hoping to heal their nation’s wounds

‘Two people combine to make the power,” growls seasoned Afrikaner canoeist Steve (Grant Swanby) to his Soweto protege Duma (Lemogang Tsipa), as they struggle to get their paddles in sync and the future of South African race relations hangs by a thread. Inspired by a true story of an unfancied black-white duo who managed to win the gruelling 120km Dusi canoe marathon in 2014, Beyond the River sadly can’t muster more than bland motivational soundbites about how sport can heal the nation’s wounds. Resplendently photographed by Trevor Calverley, it feels as if there’s no racial divide that can’t be conquered by a soaring drone shot of glorious veldt.

Duma is drifting into a life of crime, illegally stripping cables for the metal, when he...

It’s always fascinating to watch what an actor chooses to do when they make their directorial debut. For Chiwetel Ejiofor, he chose to adapt and direct a true life tale. Specifically, it’s the story of William Kamkwamba. That name may not be familiar to many, but for Ejiofor, it meant a lot. So, he set out make this his first feature filmmaking project. The end result is a well intentioned and well made drama that doesn’t quite hit the mark. The flick is damn close to be worthy of a recommendation, but it’s ever so slightly missing the bullseye. As of Friday, it’s streaming on Netflix, so it’s available to all right now, for what that’s worth. This film is, as mentioned above, a drama based on the true story of William Kamkwamba. Set in Malawi in 2001, the movie follows the boy William...

The gang's all here for a movie night! Such was the case for Angelina Jolie and her famous family on Monday night. Of course, it wasn't just any ordinary movie night for the star and her youngsters. The actress moderated a special screening of the Netflix film, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York City. The movie is Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor's feature directorial debut and stars him as well as Maxwell Simba, Aïssa Maïga, Lily Banda, Lemogang Tsipa, Philbert Falakeza, Joseph Marcell and Noma Dumezweni.  Ejiofor sat down with Jolie for a Q&A during the event, as did William Kamkwamba, whose memoir the film is based...

"It can work, if you help me." Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, the feature directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. Based on the true story, the film is about a young boy in Malawi who helps his village by building a wind turbine with spare parts after reading about them in a book. Maxwell Simba stars as William Kamkwamba, and the cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Noma Dumezweni, Joseph Marcell, Aïssa Maïga, Lemogang Tsipa, and Lily Banda. This is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this month, and will debut on Netflix in March, so not much long of a wait if you're interested in it. This looks like a wonderfully inspiring, uplifting story of determination and ingenuity. And I really want to see if Ejiofor is as talented of a director as he is an actor. Here's the trailer (+ poster) for...

Netflix has launched the first trailer for Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut ‘The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind’.

Written and directed by Ejiofor, the film is based on the remarkable true story of William Kamkwamba, A boy with a curious mind who finds a way to save his Malawian village from famine.

The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Noma Dumezweni, Edith Sikelo, Aissa Maiga, Joseph Marcell and Lemogang Tsipa.

Also in trailers – Jessie Buckley has country music in her bones in trailer for ‘Wild Rose’

The film premieres on Netflix March 1st. Here’s the trailer,

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Synopsis

Adapted from the bestselling book by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind follows 13-year-old William Kamkwamba (newcomer Maxwell Simba) who is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees.

Sneaking back into the school library,...

Netflix has picked up Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the story of a real-life Malawian boy named William Kamkwamba who built a windmill that helped save his village from famine.

The streamer acquired global rights to the film excluding Japan, China and U.K. free TV rights, and plans to launch the film worldwide next year — including in select theaters in the U.S. and U.K.

Ejiofor, the Oscar-nominated star of 12 Years a Slave, also co-stars and wrote the script, adapted from the best-selling book of the same name by Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.

The film follows 13-year-old William Kamkwamba (newcomer Maxwell Simba) who is thrown out of the school he loves when his family can no longer afford the fees. Sneaking back into the school library, he...