TV Premieres to Include Film Festival Selections – Adam Salky’s I Smile Back, Nicolas Pesce’s The Eyes of My Mother & Evgeny Afineevsky’s Cries from Syria
Original Series “The Son” starring Pierce Brosnan to Debut Alongside Critically Acclaimed Independent Films & Documentaries
London, UK / Johannesburg, SA – 23 May 2017 – AMC Networks International (AMCNI) – UK announced today that it will launch SundanceTV in South Africa for the first time, on DStv channel 108. SundanceTV, which celebrates independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries as well as outstanding original drama series, will launch on 1 June exclusively to DStv Premium customers as a 24/7 linear HD channel.
Louise Cottrell, Vice President, Affiliate Sales for AMCNI UK, said: “SundanceTV will offer a selection of award winning and locally appealing programming exclusively to audiences in South Africa. We’re excited to launch this premium channel for the first time in South Africa on the DStv platform, which reinforces our long-standing partnership with MultiChoice, Africa’s leading video entertainment provider.”
“We’ve listened to what our customers are saying about our content, and are committed to bringing them more fresh content more often and fewer repeats. SundanceTV will bring great variety through its high quality art movies and unforgettable series. We’re confident our customers will welcome SundanceTV to the DStv family and into their homes,” commented Aletta Alberts, Head of Content for MultiChoice.
SundanceTV is a renowned global brand, true to the vision of its founder Robert Redford to celebrate creativity. It offers a compelling mix of exclusive festival films and original drama series and delivers an upscale and highly engaged audience of films and series fanatics. Launched in 1996 SundanceTV showcases today’s creative icons and the emerging talent of tomorrow while celebrating the unique spirit of creativity and independent storytelling established by the world-renowned annual Sundance Film Festival.
SundanceTV showcases award-winning films from the Festival, many of which are seen exclusively on the network. The channel will also broadcast internationally acclaimed and popular original drama series from AMC Studios and other leading distributors such as “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Into the Badlands” and “Breaking Bad,” among others.
For more information about the schedule of the channel, keep an eye on DStv.com closer to the launch date, as well as the TV Guide on your DStv decoder.
Upcoming Films & Documentaries
I Smile Back
Premieres on 1 June at 21:00 CAT
Laney is an attractive, intelligent suburban wife and devoted mother of two adorable children. She has the perfect husband who plays basketball with the kids in the driveway, a pristine house, and a shiny SUV for carting the children to their next activity. However, just beneath the façade lies depression and disillusionment that send her careening into a secret world of reckless compulsion. Only very real danger will force her to face the painful root of her destructiveness and its crumbling effect on those she loves.
Deftly directed by Adam Salky (Dare, 2009 Sundance Film Festival), I Smile Back is at times darkly humorous but also harrowing and unflinching as an authentic, humanizing portrait that offers no easy resolution for a damaged woman struggling to come to terms with herself.
The Eyes of My Mother
Premieres in July
In their secluded farmhouse, a mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, teaches her daughter, Francisca, to understand anatomy and be unfazed by death. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor horrifyingly shatters the idyll of Francisca’s family life, deeply traumatizing the young girl, but also awakening some unique curiosities. Though she clings to her increasingly reticent father, Francisca’s loneliness and scarred nature converge years later when her longing to connect with the world around her takes on a distinctly dark form.
Writer/director Nicolas Pesce’s assured feature debut allows us only an elliptical presence in Francisca’s world, guiding our imaginations to follow her into peculiar, secret places.
Cries from Syria
Premieres in July
Incorporating gripping first-hand accounts from activists, child protesters, and a former army general who joined the uprising, director Evgeny Afineevsky has created a powerful and immediate depiction of the recent and current situation in Syria. This compelling documentary bears witness to the resiliency of the people in the wake of their exposure to unthinkable crimes against humanity.
Upcoming Series
“The Son”
Premieres on 6 June at 21:00 CAT
Based on Philipp Meyer’s New York Times best-selling and Pulitzer Prize finalist novel, “The Son” is a sweeping saga spanning 150 years and three generations of the McCullough family. The series traces the story of Eli McCullough (Pierce Brosnan), the charismatic family patriarch. As a child, he was kidnapped and raised among the Comanche Native American tribe and applies the brutal Comanche worldview to his business dealings.
Produced by AMC Studios and Sonar Entertainment, “The Son” is written and executive produced by Meyer, Lee Shipman, Brian McGreevy and showrunner Kevin Murphy. “The Son” is distributed internationally by Sonar Entertainment.
“Fear the Walking Dead”
Catch-up of Seasons 1 & 2 from 5 June. Season 3 premiere on 24 July at 21:00 CAT
“Fear the Walking Dead” portrays the efforts of a highly dysfunctional blended family to stick together when they realise a reported virus is actually the onset of the undead apocalypse. The series is developed and produced by Robert Kirkman, creator of “The Walking Dead,” and Dave Erickson, known for “Sons of Anarchy.” The series’ main cast includes Kim Dickens (Gone Girl, The Blind Side, “Lost”), Cliff Curtis (Missing, The Dark Horse, Gang Related) along with upcoming actors Frank Dillane, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Lorenzo James Henrie.
As the series returns for season three, our families will be brought together in the vibrant and violent ecotone of the U.S.-Mexico border. International lines done away with following the world’s end, our characters must attempt to rebuild not only society, but family as well.
About SundanceTV
Dedicated to founder Robert Redford’s mission to celebrate creativity, SundanceTV is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, imaginative and uncompromising, SundanceTV offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of high-quality independent films, documentaries and original programs. In addition to being widely distributed throughout North America, SundanceTV is available throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Owned and operated by AMC Networks International, SundanceTV is a highly recognisable and magnetic brand that is available in HD and across multiple platforms.
About AMC Networks International – UK
AMC Networks International – UK is a leading international broadcaster and distributor of eleven thematic television channels across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The diverse portfolio includes AMC, SundanceTV, Eva, Extreme Sports Channel and MGM Channel together with joint venture and partnership channels: Outdoor Channel, plus CBS Drama, CBS Action, CBS Reality, CBS Europa and Horror Channel with CBS Studios International. The consolidated and joint venture channels reach audiences in more than 160 million homes across over 140 countries and in 26 languages.
AMC Networks International – UK is a business unit of AMC Networks International which delivers entertaining and acclaimed programming to Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. For more information, visit: www.www.amcnetworks.com/amcni.