The all-time classic South African film, SARAFINA! was honoured with a Special Screening at the 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival on 26 November at the prestigious 700-seater Cinéma le Colisee with lead star, Leleti Khumalo in attendance. This followed the Cannes Film Festival selection in May where SARAFINA! screened in the coveted Cannes Classics section, 31 years after its World Premiere in Cannes.
SARAFINA! premiered on Netflix on Sunday, 26 November 2023, instantly making it available to audiences of the streaming service throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. The film emerged as one of the Top Ten feature films on Netflix which is unprecedented for a film that was originally released over thirty years ago.
SARAFINA! continues to enchant audiences after three decades and has achieved cult status. In a homage to the role of women in South Africa’s freedom struggle, the film was released in cinemas during Women’s Month in August this year in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana, and received a resounding response. The Netflix success follows this trend.
Anant Singh commented, “We are delighted that Leleti attended the successful screening at the Marrakech Film Festival where the audience acknowledged the powerful storyline and its impact on society. We are also thrilled that SARAFINA! has achieved Top Ten status on Netflix this week. The Netflix platform has opened up a whole new audience for SARAFINA! and further entrenches the film as an audience favourite among a multi-generational audience.”
