Juffrou X, Die Brug, Spinners – these are the thrilling new small-screen series with pilot episodes at the Silwerskerm Film Festival
The kykNET Silwerskerm Film Festival has become synonymous with showcasing brand-new Afrikaans films and developing the local film industry, but the scope broadens to include sneak peeks of upcoming television entertainment this year. The pilot episodes of three thrilling small-screen series will be screened.
One of these series, is kykNET’s biggest reality show to date – the visually spectacular Die Brug. Then there are also two exhilarating drama series: kykNET’s Juffrou X with Trix Vivier (Trackers, Legacy) in the titular role, and Spinners, the much-awaited joint venture between streaming service Showmax and the international network giant Canal+.
Die Brug is the local Afrikaans version of the worldwide reality show phenomenon The Bridge, which had viewers in awe in Australia, the UK, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Die Brug is produced locally by Red Pepper Productions (Big Brother Africa, Kwarantyn, Wie Word ‘n Miljoenêr?).
Twelve strangers come together next to a lake in the wild, where they are given a daunting assignment: build a bridge to an island 250 metres from the lake’s shore within 20 days. The motivation? On the island is a hidden chest filled with prize money of R1 million in cash. Besides the physical endurance and creative thinking needed for such a task, such teamwork is notorious for sparking all kinds of conflict. To top it off, only one bridge-builder will be allowed to walk across the bridge to the island, and then this player has to decide whether they will share the prize or not.
The exclusive preview of Die Brug at the festival will take place on Thursday, 24 August, at 15:30, while the series kicks off on kykNET on Thursday 26 October at 20:00.
In the gripping kykNET drama series Juffrou X, we meet a feisty maths teacher at a school where the final exams are just one of the challenges facing the learners. Poverty, gangs, crime and drugs stand between them and graduation. Hence, teaching at Victory Heights High School requires nerves of steel and a good heart – two qualities for which Juffrou X deserves a golden star. She will do anything to assist these kids in carving out a better life for themselves, whether inside or outside the classroom and even the law. However, when a new, deadly drug surfaces, it becomes a matter of life and death.
Juffrou X is the brainchild of Tertius Kapp, the acclaimed scriptwriter of movies such as Griekwastad, Gaia en Dis ek, Anna. He also directed the series. Besides Trix Vivier, playing Juffrou X, the cast includes Clayton Evertson, Charlton George, Gershwin Mias and Anja Taljaard.
The pilot episode of Juffrou X will be screened at the festival on Friday, 25 August, at 15:30.
The Showmax and Canal+ co-production Spinners became the first African series ever invited to participate in competition at Canneseries in France. The honour of being included in this prestigious festival only befalls ten series from across the globe annually.
Spinners is a thrilling extreme sports action drama, with Cantona James putting the pedal to the metal. Cantona plays Ethan, a good kid born in a grim neighbourhood. In Cape Town’s slums, where local gangs make the law, he is soon left with no choice but to work for one of them to support himself and his younger brother. Caught in a web of crime, he discovers he has an incredible talent for spinning, an exciting and extreme motorsport involving spectacular stunts inside and outside of fast cars. Could this be his way out of the violent criminal life that seems to be the only option to survive in his neighbourhood?
Cantona’s co-stars include Chelsea Thomas, Brendon Daniels and Dillon Windvogel, and the challenging directing is the handiwork of Jaco Bouwer, whose Gaia received international critical acclaim and was just nominated for nine SAFTAs. Amongst others, Gaia clinched an award at the renowned South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas.
The Spinners pilot screening is scheduled on the festival programme for Friday, 25 Augustus at 20:00.