This Freedom Day Netflix is paying homage to the meaning of freedom, recognising that it means so many different things to so many people. Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of choice and freedom of content are a few that resonate most.
With such a strong narrative behind Freedom Day, we’ve put together a list of some incredible African productions, available to stream on this commemorable day and to serve as a reminder of our renewed journey and how far we’ve come.
Shadow
Following the brutal murder of his six-year-old daughter, Johannesburg Detective and former Task Force specialist, Shadrach ‘Shadow’ Khumalo, quits his job to become a fixer for people who, like him, have been failed by the criminal justice system. With the help of his former partner, Shadow cuts a swathe through the city’s underworld taking full advantage of a rare condition that affects his central nervous system: he is impervious to physical pain. And he will stop at nothing to hunt down the man who killed his daughter.
Queen Sono
The action-packed series follows Queen Sono, the highly trained top spy in a South African agency whose purpose is to better the lives of African citizens. While taking on her most dangerous mission yet, she must also face changing relationships in her personal life.
Hopeville
To support the swimming aspirations of his son, an estranged father attempts to restore a public pool but meets resistance from the community.
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
Against all the odds, a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine. Based on the true story of William Kamkwamba.
Lionheart
When her father falls ill, Adaeze steps up to run the family business — alongside her uncle — and prove herself in a male-dominated world.
Tsotsi
Tsotsi, a young street thug, steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat and spends six days in a violent and agitated situation which leads to an emotional bond towards the end.
Four Corners
In the Cape Flats, a newly released ex-con exacts revenge and triggers a gang war, sending ripples through the life of a 13-year old chess prodigy.
Uncovered
A businesswoman decides to continue her murdered sister’s investigation into a mining conspiracy that her own boss may be a part of.
Agent
A former footballer tries to make it as a player agent in the world of African soccer, but a secret from his past threatens to destroy everything.
Liefling
An adventure-loving young girl with a passion for life. She lives on a farm in Hartbeespoort with her father Simon, mother Linda, grandfather Karel, brother Kobus and house-keeper Katy.
Tjovitjo
Amidst poverty and struggle, a hardened pantsula dance leader enters a dark space and searches for redemption and salvation in his community.
Baby Mamas
Four professional women lean on each other for support in their often confusing and volatile journey to motherhood.
Keep an eye out for these films and series that will also be making its way to Netflix soon:
Blood & Water: coming soon
At Parkhurst College, a prestigious inner-city school for Cape Town’s elite scholars and academic overachievers, we’ll follow the exploits of the intelligent, proactive and impulsive 16- year-old Puleng Khumalo, as she engineers her transfer to the school to investigate the 17-year- old cold case of her abducted-at-birth older sister she’s never met.
Material: 1 May 2020
Cassim is a young Muslim man who works in his father’s fabric shop in Johannesburg. However, Cassim wants to be a stand-up comedian, which his father disapproves of. When he gets a gig at a local bar, he has to find a way of keeping it a secret.
Intersexions (season 1): 5 May and (season 2): 12 May
Intersexions is an award-winning television series that shows how the inter-relationships between sexual partners enable HIV to spread insidiously across society.