South Africa is mourning the loss of one of its most iconic talents. This week, DStv and Showmax celebrate the life and legacy of Presley Chweneyagae with a special line-up, including the Oscar-winning film Tsotsi, available on Showmax, M-Net and Mzansi Magic – alongside the season finale of Cobrizi and a curated collection of his most unforgettable performances.
The world was introduced to a 20-year-old Presley Chweneyagae in 2006, when Tsotsi won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Based on Athol Fugard’s novel, the film follows a young boy forced to survive alone in the Johannesburg townships, whose life is upended when he finds a baby in the back seat of a car he’s stolen.
Directed by Gavin Hood and produced by Peter Fudakowski, Tsotsi stars Presley alongside Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Jerry Mofokeng and Rapulana Seiphemo. The film’s journey to Oscar glory began with wins at the Edinburgh Film Festival and continued with the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, often seen as a strong predictor for the Academy Awards.
Powerful performance
At the 2006 Oscars, Will Smith opened the envelope and announced Tsotsi as the winner. Presley’s powerful performance earned international acclaim and the Black Movie Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role. He stood out in a category that included Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr., Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tyrese Gibson.
Presley returned to Mzansi, where he felt most connected to the stories he wanted to tell. His career spanned theatre classics like Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, co-authoring the acclaimed play Relativity, and directing the award-winning Cell No. 4, a testament to his depth and versatility as a storyteller.
His star turns as Thuso ‘Cobra’ Mokoena on International Emmy-nominated The River catapulted him back to the forefront of national consciousness.
His character made an indelible imprint in the national pop culture psyche with his own style, swagger and language, winning two Golden Horn at the SAFTAs for ‘Best Actor – Telenovela’ in both 2019 and 2024. The spin-off series, Cobrizi, was a vehicle for Presley to express himself in front of the camera as its star and behind it as the show’s Executive Producer.
Honouring his life and work
Barely two decades on from that career-defining moment on the Academy Awards stage, Presley is gone at the age of just 40.
This weekend, DStv and Showmax are proud to honour his life and work with special screenings of Tsotsi, as well as the finale of his final performance, Cobrizi, and a special broadcast of some of his finest films on Mzansi Bioscope.
Tsotsi will be broadcast on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) at 9pm on 6 June and will be available to stream on Showmax and DStv Stream. It will come home to Mzansi Magic on Saturday 7 June at 8pm and M-Net Movies Channel 4 on 15 June at 8pm.
Mzansi Bioskop will be honouring his work with broadcasts of a series of his films, including Zama Zama (9 June); State of Violence (10 June); iNumber Number (11 June) and Tsotsi, once more, on 11 June, all at 9pm.
In Cobrizi, Presley returned to captivate audiences in a spin-off series named for the nickname his character acquired on The River. A gritty, heart-wrenching and ultimately hopeful tale of survival, love and redemption, Cobrizi showcased the heart, soul and inventiveness of Presley. The series comes to an end on 8 June at 8pm on Mzansi Magic.
Robala Ka Kagiso, Presley Chweneyagae, Cobrizi Wa Le Easy.
