KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban curry is on its way to global fame thanks to Erica Platter and Clinton Friedman whose book ‘Durban Curry: So Much of Flavour’ was placed second in the Best Book of the Year category in the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2015. Proving that local is more than just lekker, ‘Durban Curry’ secured its top three […]

Freshlyground’s new music video showcases a kaleidoscope of South African faces and scenes (yes, there’s a braai) that will have you feeling emotional without quite knowing why. As images are flashed on screen, they tug at the heartstrings with faces that show the struggle, the pain, the pride, the play, the passion, the love…the people. […]

Latest South African comedy ‘Stone Cold Jane Austen’, which opens in SA movie theaters tomorrow, was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France this week. It’s a brilliant mockumentary about an English rock band from South Africa trying to break into the increasing profitable Afrikaans music market…without being able to speak the […]

South Africa has a strong connection to the latest Hollywood blockbuster, Avengers: Age of Ultron. A fight between The Hulk and Iron Man takes place in Joburg, which features a few times in the movie, and Cape Town visual effects studio BlackGinger had a hand in the film’s visual effects. Johannesburg’s city centre takes on […]

I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time, but at every time of sitting down to write, it’s the one subject that slips from my mind. A safari reading list. There are so many wonderful books on Africa and it is always such a wonderful part of safari campfire conversation. Yet we never […]

Remember the 1980s TV series “Ballade vir ’n Enkeling”? Well, it’s back, better than ever. The mystery, once again, is about a journalist’s quest for the truth behind the disappearance of a famous writer, Jacques Rynhard. Slowly she uncovers the secret past of a liberal loner in search of freedom. The film (and a simultaneously […]

You might remember him as the frontman of the band Fokoffpolisie and later Van Coke Kartel. Now Francois Van Coke is going solo, with his first 12-song album just released and titled after the singer himself. The first video, released on April 7 on YouTube – a lyrical ballad Toe Vind ek Jou which he sings […]

“Bits of songs and broken drums Are all he could recall, So he spoke to me In a bastard tongue Carried on the silence of the guns.”* Johnny Clegg is a multi-faceted character. He is often given the tagline “musician, academic, activist, icon, White Zulu”. This is not enough to fully illustrate his impact and […]

The Cannes Film Festival 2015 has announced that ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ has been officially selected to be screened Out of Competition at the famous film festival on the French Riviera. The film will be shown on Thursday 14th May at the Grand Théâtre Lumière (that’s the main movie theatre at the festival). It’s been 30 […]

During the summer months, South Africans gather every Sunday at sunset in Cape Town’s Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden. The iconic gardens set the scene for performances by much loved local and international musicians. Food, friends, family and famous flora are all on the bill. The series of concerts promote local talent and provide a platform within […]

On the 28th of December 2014 mist like smoke rolled over Table Mountain. A human rainbow formed on the lawns facing the stage. The prospect of rain did not dampen the crowd’s spirit; instead, braais were ignited, South African flags were distributed and laughter was shared. Members of Hot Water and other contributing artists occupied […]

On the 31st of December 2014 Kirstenbosch was alight with anticipation.The stage was bathed in reds, ambers, purples and blues as the sky changed from blue, to purple, to amber, to red. The air was sweet and the scent of mist lingered. The year was coming to an end, but Mango Groove and Arno Carstens […]

After touring the USA extensively, The Parlotones graced South African crowds with a performance at the iconic Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on the 11th January 2015. They shook things up with a colourful show that had the crowd singing louder than lead singer Kahn Morbee. The band’s tattooed arms, “make-upped” faces and graffitied musical instruments […]

On the 8th of February 2015 Freshlyground got into the Cape Town vibe as they danced barefoot across the stage. They like to keep things fresh with their refreshing humour and extravagant, yet authentic, performances. With songs ranging from Love to Mugabe, the variety of their music and talent is as diverse as the flora […]

Fresh off ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ Irish actor Jamie Dornan will soon be heading to South Africa to shoot a biopic set in the Congo. The 1960s-era movie, ‘Jadotville,’ will be filmed in Ireland and South Africa starting in April, according to Netflix, which has bought the worldwide rights for $17-million. The movie is based […]

A young guy in Vereeniging, Refentse Morake, is fast becoming an internet sensation with his guitar and beautiful voice…recorded on the cellphone of a passerby! Vereeniging resident Cecilia Kruger Marchionna (also known as Tannie Kleintjie) happened to overhear Refentse playing on his guitar when she was wandering up the road…so she whipped out her cellphone, […]

The 2015 Gourmand World Cookbook Award judges have chosen “Durban Curry, So Much of Flavour,” by Erica Platter and Clinton Friedman (PawPaw Publishers) as their South African Book of the Year. “It is outstanding, vibrant with passion and culture,” commented the judges. “Durban Curry” is also the winner of the South African Heritage and Indian […]

Philani Dladla is a well-known feature of Joburg’s streets. The Pavement Bookworm reads books and gives reviews to passers-by. If they like the review, they buy the book. This way, he pays rent and buys food. But his bigger goal is promoting literacy among children. Walk along Gleneagles Road in Greenside and you will find […]

The life story of Nelson Mandela, a powerful tale of a charismatic lawyer and human rights activist whose work to dismantle apartheid landed him in prison for 27 years before he ultimately became the country’s first democratically elected president, has been told time and time again. Films of his journey have been made for the […]

There are probably few places that conjure ambience more than a library with mahogany shelves crammed with books, all centered on a crackling fireplace. So it’s not surprising that when Cape Town International Airport scored badly on its ambience rating, someone came up with the idea of putting in a library. In June, after a […]

The much-anticipated trailer for Chappie is finally here! And it looks like South African Canadian writer-director Neill Blomkamp has got his mojo back.  Blomkamp has returned to his much-loved bizarre sci-fi roots that earned his directorial debut District 9 an Oscar nomination. His second film Elysium, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, was less enthusiastically received. But […]

Good Morning, Mr Mandela is a memoir verging on a romance of sorts between Zelda la Grange and her boss, Nelson Mandela, a man who she served with dedication for 17 years as his personal secretary. It is a fiercely honest account of her emotional metamorphosis – from a conservative and prejudiced white racist South African, […]

This time of the year, you would usually not find Jules and me at home in Cradock. We would be tootling around somewhere on a back road in the vast Karoo. Namaqualanders just had a spectacular daisy season out in the west; summer is said to be on its way and is it shearing season […]

Looking out at the vast and sunny Karoo Heartland today, you’d never think that less than two weeks ago we were all snow-stormed in. Which takes me back exactly 33 years to the day, when I was sitting at a bar in Montana, USA, called The Cherokee Strip. The locals who drank at The Strip, […]

A Durban film, co-starring Capetonian Stelio Savante and SA child actor Sizo Motsoko, has been chosen as an Official Selection for the 2014 San Diego Film Festival where it will make its world premier. ‘Where the Road Runs Out’ made history when it became the first feature ever filmed in the small African country of Equatorial Guinea […]