On Thursday night, I got the chance to attend the pre-screening of Shadow, the South African Netflix Original series starring Pallance Dladla, Amanda Du-Pont, Sdumo Mtshali, Khathu Ramabulana and other SA stars.
We got to watch two episodes of the crime series that centres around Shadow, an ex-cop who is haunted by a tragic loss. His loss is what pushed him to bring criminals to book who have eluded Johannesburg police.
Shadow will not only be watched by South Africans, but also by Netflix subscribers in 119 countries across the world. Yes, Shadow is going global, which is a huge win for the South African Film & Television Industry.
Before the screening of the show, Amanda and Pallance took to the stage to share their experience of working alongside each other and the crew. What I didn’t realise was that Shadow had a very small cast and crew – so small that the cast members had to assist with moving film equipment from one location to the other. Amanda told us about how she got hit on the head with a boom by the sound guy on the first day of shooting.
The cast also performed their own stunts: Pallance sustained injuries and had to get stitches after smashing a mirror with his fist, while Amanda broke her toe at some point. Talk about teamwork and dedication!
Amanda emphasised the opportunities that the series has opened up for South African filmmakers to show the rest of the world what modern-day South Africa looks like on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s important for the rest of the world to see what we go through, to see what Africa and South Africa look like in modern-day life.”
“We’ve done an incredible job in showcasing our past, showing what we’ve been through, but we haven’t really shown what we go through today. I really think it’s an exciting time not just for me, Pallance and our crew but for everyone. The door is finally wide open.”
In the first two episodes of the show, I was impressed – not only with the actors’ performances, but also with how beautifully the scenes were shot. The numerous aerial views of Johannesburg are a constant reminder that besides all of the negative aspects of Jozi, it remains a beautiful city, especially at night.
The ending of the second episode had me itching to find out what happens next. Each episode of the series flows beautifully into the next, which means you can’t afford to skip an episode. Each one is like a piece of a puzzle, and you’ll only get the full picture at the end if you have collected all the pieces.
Shadow launches on Netflix on Friday, 8 March 2019.
Keep an eye out for my full review next week, because I’ll most certainly be bingeing on this series for the rest of the weekend.
