By Kevin Kriedemann
Published December 15, 2017
That award-winning movies are currently streaming on Showmax internet television service is taken as proof that this streaming video service is delivering some of the best local and international content to African audiences.
Mbithi Masya’s KATI KATI was the biggest winner at the just concluded Kalasha awards in Kenya; it bagged six awards including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Director of Photography, Best Editor, Best Special Effects and Best Sound Design.
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Kenya’s official 2018 Academy Awards foreign film entry, KATI KATI tells the story of a young woman who finds herself in an afterlife resort, stuck in purgatory with other souls played by some of the best talents in the industry.
KATI KATI has won the FIPRESCI critic’s prize at Toronto International Film Festival and the New Voices/New Visions Special Jury Prize at Palm Springs, among other accolades, and is the most nominated film going into the Kalasha Awards, with 13 nominations.
Other winners currently streaming on Showmax Kenya include the political satire THE XYZ SHOW (Best Animation) and AISHA (Best Lighting Technician and Best Production Designer).
A number of Showmax Kenya titles that were also nominated for Kalasha include NEW BEGINNINGS, TUMAINI SENTA, INHERITED and WAKWE.
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Meanwhile, in the 2018 Golden Globe nominations that were announced on December 11, 2017, the most nominated series was BIG LITTLE LIES that is currently streaming on Showmax. It has six nominations, for Best Limited Series; Best Actress (Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon); Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley); and Best Supporting Actor (Alexander Skarsgard).
Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book, BIG LITTLE LIES follows a group of mothers at a suburban school and will have you wondering both whodunnit and who died until its final moments.
Days before the nominations, HBO announced that BIG LITTLE LIES would be back for a second season, to be directed by Andrea Arnold, who has won at the Oscars and Sundance, not to mention twice at the BAFTAs and four-times at Cannes for films like FISH TANK, RED ROAD and AMERICAN HONEY.
The first season received 16 Emmy nominations and won eight awards, including Outstanding Limited Series.
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Other strong contenders include three series that were available first and only on Showmax in Africa: Golden Globe winner Maggie Gyllenhaal as Best Actress for The Deuce, about the rise of the porn industry in New York; four-time Golden Globe nominee Jude Law as Best Actor for The Young Pope, which doesn’t need an explanation; and Golden Globe winner Christian Slater as Best Supporting Actor for hacker drama Mr Robot.
Other nominees include previous Golden Globe winners GAME OF THRONES which is up for Best Drama Series; FRGO, coming to Showmax on January 11, 2018 and up for Best Limited Series, Best Actor (three-time Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor) and Best Supporting Actor (Emmy nominee David Thewlis); and the detective series TOP OF THE LAKE:CHINA GIRL, which is up for Best Limited Series and comes to Showmax in March 2018.
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Previous Kalasha winners on Showmax Kenya include CLASSMATES, FUNDI-MENTALS, GROOVE THEORY, HOUSE OF LUNGULA, NI SISI, SAIDA, SOMETHING NECESSARY, STAY, TALES FROM THE BUSH LARDER: KAMPALA and VEVE.
Showmax says it also has more than 20 Golden Globe winners available to stream, including THE AFFAIR and EX-GIRLFRIEND that won in 2016.