Skemerdans: Cape Flats neo-noir murder mystery gets first trailer

The first trailer for Showmax Original Skemerdans has been released, giving audiences a peek at the South African series that follows a neo-noir mystery set in the Cape Flats.

The series will also be the first Afrikaans Showmax Original.

2019 Standard Bank Young Artist Amy Jephta acts as showrunner and executive producer for the series. Jephta co-directs alongside Ephraim Gordon.

Jephta and Gordon said that they wanted to share a different view of Cape Town.

“We wanted to show that Cape Town is not just the mountain and the sea. We don’t want to show the mountain or the sea,” Jephta says.

Jephta adds: “We want to show the inner city, the grittiness, and the bleak stuff, and the harsh light – not just the beautiful scenery.”

Gordon notes: “We also wanted to show a side of Cape Town we don’t normally see, to share our vision of what Cape Town is.”

“When people think of Cape Town, they think of it as a compartmentalised world: certain people living here, certain people there. But Voortrekker Road is a place where different people are constantly moving through.”

What is the Skemerdans Showmax series about?

The story of Skemerdans centres on the Fortune family. It follows two brothers, a scorned widow, and an organised crime syndicate, according to the Showmax synopsis.

The Club Galaxy, an iconic local location, served as the primary shooting location for the series.

Skemerdans stars Kevin Smith, Ilse Klink, Brendon Daniels, Vinette Ebrahim, Carmen Maarman, Trudy van Rooy, and Ceagan Arendse. Arendse tragically passed away in February 2021, the series notes.

Not much was revealed about the plot of the show. But Jephta notes that the show’s themes surround whether one can ever escape their family.

“Skemerdans is about a legacy built by one man and how everyone still lives in his shadow, and how this family is bound by a secret in their past,” Jephta says.

Other themes include the struggle for power and how each character defines power differently.

Meanwhile, Gordon also adds that the show doesn’t focus on the poverty narratives associated with the region.

“No one in this show operates in extreme poverty. They’re not necessarily all middle class but the decisions they make aren’t bread and butter issues,” Gordon says.

“It’s important to see people on the Cape Flats on that level, as well, where it’s not always about a fight for survival and a fight for your next meal. There’s dignity in that.”

You can see the trailer for the series below:

Skemerdans will be available to stream on Showmax on 28 April.

Feature image: Zaheer Banderker/Supplied by Showmax

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