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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Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
ted@aten.co.za

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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Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
ted@aten.co.za

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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Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
ted@aten.co.za

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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Gino Shelile’s profile • Letterboxd
Member of the Film Critics Association of South Africa (FCASA)

Produced by Ted Loukes and A10 Consulting
ted@aten.co.za

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!

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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
ted@aten.co.za

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

Goeie dag! Welcome to the latest episode of ACP where Gino has to take on the new boss. New boss of what? we hear you ask. Meet Flip, the manager at polony distributors Deluxe Processed Meats. Still confused? All will be explained. Our first guest of the year is award winning actor Albert Pretorius, and he is hitting your screens in the brand new Afrikaans adaptation of the world-renowned comedy series, The Office.

Albert, as Flip Bosman, the manager, takes on the iconic role that earned both Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell their first Golden Globes, as David Brent in the British version and Michael Scott in the US version, respectively. No pressure then.

South Africa’s version of The Office, has been spiced up with a distinctly local flavour. A documentary film crew is busy filming a day-to-day look into how polony is made in Klerksdorp's Deluxe Processed Meats company. However, things are about to get shaken up, as a BEE consortium has recently acquired a significant share of the business.

Gino talks to Albert about his early days and how he got into theatre, before his TV and movie career too off. And we get some insight into both Die Kantoor and Flip Bosman, the self-proclaimed Rassie of the polony business.

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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
ted@aten.co.za

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

2026 is here and most people are already back at work and the next holiday is Human Rights Day, way away on the 21st of March. Here at ACP we never stop, and Gino has a full goody bag for this week's ep.

We kick off with a new show on Mzansi Magic, Bhelas, which follows the life of Thato - a young college drop-out who wants to become a chef.

Across the pond to the supposed "Land of the Free", we find a jail in Arizona where the inmates govern themselves. This experimental docu-series is the brainchild of a local sherrif who wants to shake things up. Check it out, Gino gives it an 8/10.

AFCON is getting close to the sharp end, and unfortunately we (South Africa) are no longer contenders. Gino bemoans the fate of Bafana Bafana and our loss of footballing glory.

Nigerian singer/songwriter Wizkid's documentary, Wizkid: Long Live Lagos is out on Showmax. A deeply personal look at a singular musician, the film also outlines the expansion of African music to a global, mainstream stage where it's recognized as the many disparate genres and sounds it is.

And we round off the episode with an update on how things stand in Harlan Coben's Run Away , currently streaming on Netflix.

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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
ted@aten.co.za

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026

Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of African Couch Potato of 2026. We kick off the ep with Gino's top 26 movies to look out for over the coming year. He has a look at the whirlwind African tour of American YouTuber iShowSpeed. Staying with the African tour theme, there's a review of the totally crazy Tiffany Haddish Goes Off currently streaming on Showmax, and we end with a first look at the new Harlan Coben thriller now on Netflix, Run Away.

Here is the movie list with their expected release dates

Top 26 anticipated movies for 2026

1. People We Meet on Vacation - Jan 9
2. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - Jan 16
3. The Moment - Jan 30
4. Send Help - Jan 30
5. Wuthering Heights - Feb 13
6. Scream 7 - Feb 27
7. The Bride! - Mar 6
8. The Breadwinner - Mar 13
9. Project Hail Mary - Mar 20
10. The Drama - Apr 3
11. The Devil Wears Prada - May 1
12. Mandalorian and Grogu - May 22
13. Disclosure Day - Jun 12
14. Toy Story 5 - Jun 19
15. Supergirl - Jun 26
16. Moana - Jul 10
17. The Odyssey - mid Jul
18. Spider-man: Brand New Day - Jul 31
19. Resident Evil - Sep 18
20. Whalefall - Oct 16
21. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping - Nov 20
22. Meet the Parents 4: Focker In-law - Nov 25
23. Narnia - Nov 26
24. Jumanji 3 - Dec 4
25. Doomsday - Dec 18
26. Dune: Part Three - Dec 18

A stack of diary dates to keep you going through 2026.

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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:
instagram.com/africancouchpotato
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gino.arlechino@gmail.com

WhatsApp Channel: Mzansi Film News, Views and Reviews

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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
ted@aten.co.za

Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay

© SANTE MEDIA 2026