The River nominated 17 times at this year’s SAFTA Awards. Every once in a while, the television space gets shaken up by a thunderous production. The River depicts the lives of the Mokoena and Dlamini family. The sizzling story is set in Pretoria, as the audience get to see how these different families navigate their way around the discovery of a diamond in Cullinan, however their journey sows division in both fractions of the family.
A few years ago South Africans were treated to the iconic Isibaya, which saw almost everyone talk about how much the South African audience had been yearning for an authentic and raw story, as it served its purpose.
Fast forward to 2018, we got introduced to a sizzling telenovela, The River, which definitely matched up to the general standard of telenovela’s and drama series on Mzansi Magic.
The River received a whole 17 nominations at this years’ South Africans Film and Television Awards (SAFTA).
The news of the nominations were met with warm hearts as The River remains a firm South African fave. The groundbreaking telenovela is produced by Tshedza Pictures, which also happens to be the company’s first cut into the world television.
https://twitter.com/TvMzansi/status/1093831686234755072
An array of departments got a SAFTA nomination in this stellar production, which proves that hard work and passion are paramount to ensure enthralling and entertaining television viewing.
1. The much contested Best Actress (In a Telenovela) category includes, Sindi Dlathu, who portrays the character of Lindiwe and Malefu, brought to life by the divinely talented, Moshidi Mosthegwa. The cherry on top includes a handsome R50,000 cash prize.
BEST ACTOR #TheRiver1Magic #SAFTAs13 pic.twitter.com/l0y1fEFvH1
— King (@ZweliKing) February 8, 2019
2. The Best Actor category is another one for the books, the nomination list is highly contested with seasoned actors such as, Hlomla Dandala as Zweli on The River, coupled with Presley Chweneyagae as Cobra.
#TheRiver1Magic Has about 17 🔥🔥#SAFTAs13 Nominations
I’m not sure if it’s more than 17.
Congratulations @PhathuMakwarela and your team 🍾
Thread: pic.twitter.com/HdeVSNKcod
— Zweli 🍉 (@ZweliKing) February 8, 2019
3. Writing has mostly been regarded as a lone sport. Therefore recognition of this magnitude serves as some kind of an encouragement to this writing batch. The writing team on The River slayed the script and Mzansi was here for it.
Other notable departments that made the cut at the prestigious SAFTA nomination list include the following:
* Best Achievement in Directing – Telenovela
*Best Achievement in Editing – Telenovela
*Best Telenovela
*Best Supporting Actor – Lawrence Maleka as Zolani and Zenzo ngqobe as Percy
*Best Supporting Actress – Ferry Jele as Veronica.
*Best Achievement in Art – Telenovela, Amanda Scholtz
*Best Achievement in Hair & Make Up -Telenovela, Bongi Mlotshwa
*Best Achievement in Wardrobe – Telenovela, Nombulelo Sithole
*Best Achievement in Cinematography – Gaopalelwe Kabo & Trevor Brown
*Best Achievement in Sound, Sound Team
*Best in Original Score/Music, Brenden Jury
It is relatively easy to figure out reasons as to why season one of The River was a hit with the audience. The riveting storylines keep us yearning for more.
If you are a Vodacom customer and is utterly hooked on The River, then you might enjoy a whole three months of free viewing on Showmax, including free 15GB to stream it.
Source: ZAlebs
