African Couch Potato

On November 28, 1987, South African Airways Flight 295, a Boeing 747-200 named Helderberg, was en route from Taiwan, to Johannesburg with a scheduled stop in Mauritius. Shortly after midnight, the aircraft reported smoke in the cockpit to Mauritian air traffic control. Communication was lost shortly thereafter, and the plane crashed into the Indian Ocean, killing all 159 passengers and crew on board. 
Helderberg is a locally produced 3-part documentary, and this week on ACP, Gino had the chance to chat to producer Elle Oosthuizen and director Tim Apter about how the series happened and just what goes into pulling together a story from almost 40 years ago. 
Over the years many documents and transcripts have been lost, people involved at the time have passed on, and the failure to reach a definite conclusion in the original investigation has led to all sorts of theories and speculations as to what actually happened.
The Helderberg disaster remains a significant event in South African aviation history, marked by tragedy and ongoing questions about its causes and implications. Catch all three parts of Helderberg currently streaming on Showmax.
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Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
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Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

In Brakpan if they invite you for a fight, a braai will break out. Even people from Brakpan make fun of Brakpan!  The two-part documentary series Brakpan Chronicles is due out on Showmax this Friday and in this episode Gino gets to share a brandewyn with South African radio and television personality Rian van Heerden, the man who is lifting the lid on this much-maligned, memed and mocked one-time mining town on the East Rand. 
Rian chats to Gino about his, often controversial, career from his early days, to his many years of hosting intriguing conversations as a radio DJ and his move into the world of television, where he has helmed such notable successes as Sex in Afrikaans, Die Real Housewives van Pretoria and Tiek Tok Boem. 
Brakpan Chronicles starts streaming on Showmax, this Friday
(Closest cities to Brakpan town centre? Liquor City and Baby City)
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Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
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Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

Into the second month of the year and the next date on the horizon is this weekend's Valentine's Day. Two years ago saw the Valentine movie Forever Yena hit our screens. Patience, we'll get there! Playing the role of Kwanda was a young and upcoming actor named Aluve Mjali. 
In this week's ACP, Gino gets to sit down and follow the budding career of this young hot-shot actor, from his school days, to his interest in sound engineering and mixing for TV, and how that led to new and exciting roles, this time in front of the camera. For someone still on their upward journey, Aluve's CV is already full of big names. Equally comfortable in TV productions, commercials or in the movies, Aluve's star is surely set to shine.   
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Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
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Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

He’s the chaos agent you can’t ignore. The family menace who somehow built himself a fanbase. The man who turned balaclavas into a movement. Tlali is back for Outlaws Season 2 and he’s hungrier, wilder, and more unhinged than ever. But who is the actor behind this outrageous villain?
Born and raised in Daveyton, Keketso Mpitso began attending acting classes in a local community theatre at the age of 10. This led him to attend East Rand School Of the Arts followed by CityVarsity School of Media and Creative Arts where he obtained an Advance Diploma in Acting for Television. After a brief stint as a radio DJ, his career took off with films for Mzanzi Bioskop. 
Gino sat down with Keketso to talk about soccer, his early years, his love for theatre, and, of course, the return of one of Outlaws’ most unpredictable villains.
Outlaws follows the dramatic lives of the Biyela clan, Zulu cattle farmers, and the Tseoles, Basotho cattle raiders on the border between Lesotho and KZN, now streaming on Showmax
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Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
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WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews
YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube
https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato
Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

We are almost at the end of January and that paycheck should be coming in right now. Still plenty to watch; In this ep we have a mixed bag of local and US items.
We kick off with a mention of The Bridge Networking Soiree, a new initiative that aims to introduce Black American professionals to South African professionals, to share intellectual, social and venture capital. Unfortunately Gino couldn't make it but thanks for the invite!
Tot Siens, Selina on Showmax, pays tribute to a domestic worker and the integgral role she played in the filmmaker, Lourensa Eckard's life.
Despite his dislike of action flicks, Gino gives The Rip, starring Ben Affleck and  Matt Damon a 10/10. In The Rip (Netflix) a group of cops discovers a stash of cash, leading to distrust and corruption.
Back home, the animated bible movie David is making waves as it has ironically taken on the Goliath that is the latest Avatar offering. In cinemas now!
And finally when you thought you had seen everything; you haven't, yet! Dating Naked UK is now on DStv Stream. Single men and women bare all on a tropical island in the hopes of finding love without modern world complications getting in the way, hosted by reality celeb Rylan Clark. Now you've seen it all!
Yes? No? Send us a text
Let us know what you think, what movie or series you would like to see featured, or just to tell us how brilliant it all is:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
twitter.com/africancouchpot
[email protected]
WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews
YouTube; African Couch Potato - YouTube
https://www.patreon.com/c/AfricanCouchPotato
Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
[email protected]

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026