29 August, 2019 - 08:02
Ellen: Die Storie van Ellen Pakkies, South Africas entry for the foreign film category of the 2019 Golden Globes, is now streaming on Showmax. Here are five reasons to add this local classic to your watchlist:
#1. Ellen is based on a heart-breaking true story
In 2007, the death of 20-year-old tik addict Abie Pakkies created a stir in South Africa and the world. The most disturbing part of the case was that the murderer was his mother, Ellen.
Based on this heart-rending true story, Ellen explores how this loving mother became desperate enough to take her own sons life, and why a judge let her off with a three-year suspended sentence and 280 hours of community service.
Ellen Pakkies consulted on the film, which was partly shot in her own home in Lavender Hill.
#2. Ellen became a surprise box office phenomenon
South Africa has a notoriously escapist movie-going culture: of the most successful South African films of the last five years, two were Leon Schuster comedies (Frank & Fearless and Schuks! Pay Back The Money) and three were rom-coms (Vir Altyd, Pad Na Jou Hart and Keeping Up With The Kandasamys).
So no one was expecting Ellen, which is harrowing rather than hilarious, to make over R6m at the South African box office as the third-highest-grossing local film of 2018 (at a much higher per-screen rate than either Frank & Fearless or Stroomop).
A true word-of-mouth phenomenon, Ellen clearly struck a nerve with everyone who saw it.
#3. Jill Levenberg and Jarrid Geduld give award-winning performances
As Ellen and Abie, Jill Levenberg (aka Mymoena Samsodien in Suidooster) and Jarrid Geduld (aka Twist In Boy Called Twist and Randall in Dwaalster) won both The South African Film and Television Awards and Silwerskermfees prizes for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively.
As Margaret Gardiner wrote on Goldenglobes.com, Much of the power of the film is provided by the subtle interpretation of the titular character by Jill Levenberg. The emotions of love, desperation, hurt and unceasing hope... are palpable.
While Levenberg and Geduld give career-defining performances, theyre well-supported by the likes of Clint Brink (Binnelanders) as Ellens lawyer Adrian Samuels and Elton Landrew (Suidooster) as her husband Odneal.
#4. Ellen is directed by rising star Daryn Joshua
Ellen is the second film from Daryn Joshua, who directed South Africas 2018 Oscar entry, Noem My Skollie; produced and wrote the original story for Nosipho Dumisas gripping Cape Flats thriller Nommer 37; and is a writer on Netflixs upcoming African Original Blood & Water.
Joshua won Best Director at this years South African Film and Television Awards, where Ellen also took home Best Score for Quinn Lubbe.
Raised on the Cape Flats himself, Joshua is clearly a talent to watch, as is screenwriter Amy Jephta, who took home her second Best Script award in two years at Silwerskermfees 2018 for Ellen, having won in 2017 for her short film Soldaat.
#5. Ellen is more topical than ever
In July 2019, The South African National Defence Force were deployed to the Cape Flats - an area that Western Cape community safety MEC Albert Fritz labelled a war zone just weeks earlier.
War is commonly defined by the UN and other such institutions as an act of conflict that has claimed more than 1,000 lives. In the Western Cape, 1,875 people were murdered in the past six months alone, he said in a statement in June. This means that many of our most vulnerable residents in the province are living in a war zone.
Ellen makes it clear the system failed Ellen Pakkies in 2007; statistics like this make it clear the system is still failing mothers on the Cape Flats, 12 years later.
Stream Ellen: Die storie van Ellen Pakkies, in Afrikaans with English subtitles, on Showmax:
https://www.showmax.com/eng/movie/nk9gbjrc-ellen-the-ellen-pakkies-story
Embedded video for The surprise box office hit 'Ellen: Die storie van Ellen Pakkies' is now streaming on Showmax
Feature Films
Africa South Africa
Africa Stories
28/06/2025
Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month
2025, the N...
24/06/2025
Panels of the National Film and Video Foundation in Accordance with the NFVF Act...
13/06/2025
Johannesburg, 12 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...
11/06/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa - 10 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundati...
10/06/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa - 10 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundati...
06/06/2025
S o Paulo Film and Audiovisual Company (Spcine) and the National Film and Video ...
05/06/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa 4 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundatio...
29/05/2025
Rest in Power, a True Legend of Our Screens
Johannesburg, South Africa 27 May...
29/05/2025
Johannesburg, South Africa 28 May 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Vincent Blennies, has resigned from...
22/05/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
13/05/2025
The NFVF, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture that was create...
10/05/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
09/05/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
09/04/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
08/04/2025
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Vincent Blennies as Chief Exec...
04/04/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites final-year animation students to submit character designs inspired by lead characters from any South Afric...
14/03/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/03/2025
Antis pticos Orales: Revisi n De La Literatura Y Perspectiva Actual Influenza son contradictorios, dadas las elevadas tasas de curaci n espont nea. De ser neces...
28/02/2025
The Future of Green Energy: Challenges and Prospects Green energy, also known as renewable energy, has emerged as a critical solution to global energy challenge...
27/02/2025
Beginner Coding in Python: Building the Simplest AI Chat Companion Possible
AI-powered Personal VoiceBot for Language Learning by Gamze Zorlubas
You can ear...
24/12/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is calling for applications from South African film and television filmmakers to be part of the NFVF's delegat...
06/12/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the cl...
30/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
16/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, Ar...
16/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites emerging female producers ...
16/11/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites current masters students t...
30/10/2024
Johannesburg, 26 October 2024 - The 18th Annual South African Film and Televisio...
30/10/2024
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND DOCUMENTARY
!Aitsa
Practitioner: Simon Kohler
Production House: MED CINE
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING DOCUMENTARY
Rise: The Si...
24/10/2024
In accordance with Section 6 (2) (c) of the National Film and Video Foundation A...
19/10/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites postgraduate students to s...
15/10/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (herein referred to as NFVF) is a statutory body set up by the government to grow and develop the South African Film and ...
11/10/2024
10 October 2024 Johannesburg, South Africa - The National Film and Video Found...
09/10/2024
Sportel stand number: Ravel Hall G06/07 After a summer filled with intense sport emotions in Paris, France and beyond, Globecast will be happy to welcome you...
04/10/2024
SAFTAs 18 Announces Date and Theme: Honouring Excellence in South African Film and Television with the theme Back to Basics . Johannesburg, South Africa Wedn...
04/10/2024
Johannesburg, South Africa Wednesday, 2 October 2024 The South African Film ...
01/10/2024
Johannesburg, South Africa - Monday, 30 September 2024 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (...
24/09/2024
Every little girl out there who has felt different because they are not what soc...
09/09/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (herein referred to as NFVF) is a statutory body set up by the government to grow and develop the South African Film and ...
06/09/2024
Johannesburg, 05 September 2024 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF),...
09/08/2024
Johannesburg, 8 August 2024 - It is with profound sadness that the National Film...
01/08/2024
Globecast to Showcase the Broadcast Industry's Most Advanced Connectivity and Hybrid Cloud Solutions at IBC 2024
PARIS, 1 August 2024 Globecast, the lead...
16/07/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
13/07/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
09/07/2024
The NFVF, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture that is created...
02/07/2024
Arabsat, ASBU and Globecast are commemorating 20 years with a renewed multi-year deal for Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB) services, providing a wide range of DTH di...
11/06/2024
Tuesday 11 June 2024, Johannesburg. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF...
31/05/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the custodians of the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs), has learned of the allegations of ill-tr...
22/05/2024
Judge blocks auction of Elvis Presley's Graceland estateA judge in Tennessee has temporarily halted a foreclosure sale of Graceland, the historic home of El...
29 August, 2019 - 08:02 
