The hosts of the much-anticipated 16th annual South African Film and Television awards have been announced.
The organisers did not come to play this year. The cream of the crop in the SA entertainment industry will make sure that this year’s festivities will be one for the books; it’s going to be a star-studded affair indeed.
The award ceremony will be hosted virtually and will be taking place on Friday and Saturday.
“In keeping with the theme, ‘Frame the Future’, the SAFTAs are proud to announce that those spearheading the celebrations will be a fresh crop of newcomers and familiar SAFTAs faces who represent the future of SA talent,” said organisers in a statement.
SAFTAs executive producer Anneke de Ridder said the decision to host the event virtually was made at the time the bid for tender was put out to production companies to produce the SAFTAs16 awards ceremony.
“While we do acknowledge that it would have been ideal to celebrate with the industry in-person, our production company have worked exceptionally hard to give industry practitioners the honour they deserve.
“Plans for SAFTAs17 though are already under way and we definitely will resume with an in-person celebration of the industry’s best.”
Astute Radio and Television presenter Khutso Theledi, comedian and TV personality Mpho ‘Popps’ Modikoane and TV presenter Ryle De Morny are the hosts of this year’s South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) ceremony on Saturday.
The SAFTAs’ organizers took to Instagram to make the news known to the public… “Congratulations to our official hosts! Your main awards hosts are @mphopopps, @khutsotheledi & @natureboy_ct. Congratulations to this amazing trio. They will host the #SAFTAs16 main show on 03 September 2022, which will simulcast on @sabc3 and @mzansimagic, CH 161. #FrameTheFuture,” they captioned the post.
Lasizwe and Palesa Tembe have been announced as the red carpet hosts for the extravaganza while media personalities Smash Afrika and Candice Modiselle will host the first day of the SAFTAs, dubbed the Craft Awards, set to take place on Friday, a day before the main event. This event will be streamed on the SAFTAs YouTube channel at 19:00.
The “Craft Awards” show honours excellence within the technology sector of the industry.
The annual award ceremony honours, celebrates and rewards excellence in the South African film and television industry and serves to encourage the development of new talent fostering a generation of filmmakers united in the mission of telling authentic South African stories.
SAFTAs16 Craft Awards will take place on 2 September on the SAFTAs YouTube channel at 19:00 pm. The Main Show takes place on 3 September 2022 as a simulcast on S3 & Mzansi Magic, at 19:00pm with the Red-Carpet Special kicking off the night at 18:30 on S3 and the SAFTAs YouTube channel.
The countdown has officially begun. Now go on, set those reminders!
By Sinenzolo Mondi – Nduku
