The SABC is keeping its involvement in a R20- million locally made production under wraps, reports Jacquie Golding-Duffy
BRITAIN’S Channel 5, which will begin transmission in the UK next year, is planning to buy one of South Africa’s biggest ever locally made television co-productions.
The R20-million family action adventure series called Legend of the Hidden City was produced by South African Tokkie Wehmeyer, with the SABC as one of its major shareholders, with 25%.
Once the deal with Channel 5 is sealed, the locally made production will be screened to 70% of the British population until such time that a satellite/cable service is added enabling more of the British public to link up to the new channel.
Wehmeyer says the SABC contributed R5-million to the production, while the rest of the money was put up by a couple of overseas distribution companies.
The series is the first “totally South African production” with a local producer in charge, portrayed by South African actors and actresses and shot in two local locations — the Knysna forest and central Johannesburg.
Melanie Chait, the SABC’s acting director of programming, refuses to provide any details of the corporation’s link with the production, other than to say that the SABC “is involved in negotiations”.
But Wehmeyer says the 26-episode series — which took six months to shoot — is completed, bar some final touches to the final four episodes, that the SABC knows about it and that it should be hitting our television screens sometime in July, possibly accompanied by a major launch organised by the public broadcaster.
SABC sources say numerous publicity shots have been taken and the series is to be screened on SABC 2.
Other companies involved in the production and who pumped money into the series are UK-based Dandelion Distribution, South African-based Wehmeyer Productions, Sixth Street Studios and Canadian-based Paragon International.
Wehmeyer says the series has had a “good reception” and many countries have shown an interest in buying it. Among the potential buyers are Sky Television and broadcasters in South America, Scandinavia, Canada, Germany and France. He says the series is already being screened in Ireland.
The family action adventure is about three youngsters who stumble on an ancient civilisation in the African jungle after their helicopter crashes.
“It’s a real family action adventure that will appeal to local and overseas viewers,” Six Street Studios managing director Cas Odendaal says. Odendaal confirms the SABC contributed a “couple of million rand” to the series.