Jonathan Paul Clegg, was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist.
Mbongeni Ngema was a South African playwright, lyricist, composer, director, choreographer, and theatre producer, best known for co-writing the 1981 play Woza Albert! and co-writing the 1988 musical Sarafina!. He was known for plays that reflected the spirit of black South Africans under apartheid, and won much praise for his work, but was also the subject of several controversies. He died in a car accident on 27 December 2023.
Drum is a 2004 film based on the life of South African investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo, who worked for Drum magazine, called "the first black lifestyle magazine in Africa". It was director Zola Maseko's first film and deals with the issues of apartheid and the forced removal of residents from Sophiatown. The film was originally to be a six-part television series called Sophiatown Short Stories, but Maseko could not get the funding. The lead roles of Henry Nxumalo and Drum main photographer Jürgen Schadeberg were played by American actors Taye Diggs and Gabriel Mann, while most of the rest of the cast were South African actors.
Ashraf Johaardien is a multi-award-winning playwright, actor, and producer. He was the recipient of the inaugural PANSA Jury Award (2002), was listed as one of Mail & Guardian's 'Top 200 Young South Africans' (2008) and he received a Legends Award (2012) for his achievements in arts and culture.
Soul Boy is a 2010 Kenyan drama film, written by Billy Kahora and directed by Hawa Essuman. It developed under the mentorship of German director and producer Tom Tykwer in Kibera, one of the largest slums in the African continent, in the middle of Nairobi, Kenya. The film has received five nominations at the 2011 Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Daniel Friedman, known on stage as Deep Fried Man, is a South African musical comedian and writer based in Johannesburg. He describes what he does as "stand-up comedy with a guitar". He adopted his stage name, a play on his real name, because "it went along with the kind of musical comedy I wanted to do, which was an unhealthy kind of comedy".
Beauty is a 2011 South African film co-written and directed by Oliver Hermanus. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the South African entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.
Usama "Osam" Nyanzi Mukwaya is a Ugandan screenwriter, film director, producer, actor and former television host. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Ama Award and three Amvca Awards.
Cornelis Johannes DuPreez Strauss is a South African music director, TV, theatre and radio producer, composer, lyricist, writer, casting director, orchestra conductor and TV personality. He is mostly known for starring in the TV series SugaRushed and for conducting stage versions of Disney's The Lion King.
Jason Staggie is a South African filmmaker and writer of transgressive fiction and literary fiction. His style has been compared with Anthony Burgess, Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh.
Paul Emmanuel is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings and installations. Born in 1969 in Kabwe, Zambia, Emmanuel graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1993, with a BA Fine Art. Emmanuel currently lives and works in Johannesburg.
Oliver Hermanus is a South African film director and writer. He is known for his films Shirley Adams (2009), Beauty (2011), The Endless River (2015), Moffie (2019), and Living (2022). Beauty won the Queer Palm Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
Gopala Davies is an actor and director. He is best known for his intermedial theatre production Barbe Bleue: A story about madness, which won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at The National Arts Festival in 2015, and the Best Student Director Award in 2014.
Book fairs and literary festivals are held throughout South Africa each year to promote literacy among children and adults. A country's literacy rate is often a key social indicator of development. In 2005, UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported a literacy rate of 94.37% among the population aged 15 years and older. The literacy rate among the male population in this age group was 95.4% and 93.41 for female counterparts. According to Statistics South Africa, functional illiteracy among those aged 20 years or older, was recorded at 15.4% in 2005. This has improved from 2002's 27.3%. Women are more likely to be functionally illiterate across all age groups, apart from those aged between 20 and 39 years old.
Kafka's Ape is a 2015 stage adaptation by Phala O. Phala of Franz Kafka's short story "A Report to an Academy". The play with solo actor Tony Bonani Miyambo was featured at the 2015 South Africa National Arts Festival where it won the Silver Ovation Award. The play has since won more awards and critical acclaim, including the Humanities and Social Sciences 2018 Awards for Best Public Performance.
Buddha in Africa is a 2019 South African Swedish documentary film produced, written and directed by Nicole Schafer. The film follows the story of Enock Alu, a Malawian orphan from a rural village growing up between the contrasting African culture and the strict discipline of the Confucian, Buddhist value of system of the Chinese. It explores the impact of the growing influence of Chinese culture in Malawi following increasing trade relations between China and Africa in the past decade.
Cold Harbour is a 2013 South African crime thriller film directed by Carey McKenzie. It follows the story of a Cape Town policeman investigating a murder that he suspects might be gang-related.
Mduduzi Mabaso, is a South African actor. He is best known for the roles in the films and teleserials Blood Diamond, Machine Gun Preacher and Hotel Rwanda.
Fumani N Shilubana, is a South African actor, director and producer. He is best known for his roles in the popular films Zama Zama, My Father's War and Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu. His the founder of FatherFigureZA, a Foundation that seeks to integrate man back into the family unit and former Chairman of Midrand Heat Basketball Club. In 2022 May 6 with Yerhu Film Commission they launched Yerhu News a Xitsonga News bulletin. every Friday at 19:00.
