Africa Day is a day for all Africans to reflect and review on the idea of a politically, economically and socially integrated African Union and the progress made towards it. It’s also a day for us to celebrate our achievements and plan to improve on our failures, to assess our milestones and set new goals for the year ahead and a time to celebrate our rich and diverse culture and tradition.DStv has lined up some great NOT-TO-BE-MISSED programming featuring Africa on DStv in June 2011
Check out what would be buzzing on thes DStv channels:
BBC ENTERTAINMENT (DStv Channel 120)
Pride (Season Premiere): Real animals are the stars of this ground-breaking, live-action family film, set against the visually stunning backdrop of East Africa. DStv audiences can tune into BBC Entertainment from 19 June at 14:00 CAT to watch a stunning combination of breath-taking natural history footage, a high-profile voice cast, a skilfully-judged script by Simon Nye, and sophisticated animation techniques that allow the animals to talk to each other and tell the story themselves. Accepting the traditions of family life can sometimes prove too much for a mischievous young lion cub like Suki. But on the whole, growing up in the Serengeti is good, and it seems nothing can disturb the harmony of her peaceful pride. Then tragedy strikes and it tests her courage and exposes the laws and forces of nature in her struggle to survive.
BBC KNOWLEDGE (DStv Channel 251)
Lost Kingdoms Of Africa (Premiere): British art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores the real history of the Lost Kingdoms of Africa. DStv audiences can tune into BBC Knowledge from Tuesday 7 June at 21:30 CAT to watch this four-part series as it reveals the pre-colonial history of some of Africa’s most important kingdoms. In the last few decades researchers and archaeologists have begun to uncover a range of histories as impressive and extraordinary as anywhere else in the world. Lost Kingdoms of Africa reveals how Africa’s stories are preserved for us in its treasures, statues, and ancient buildings – in the culture, art, and legends of the people.
An African Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby (Premiere): Africa consists of more than 50 countries, each one unique. DStv audiences can tune into BBC Knowledge from Wednesday 8 June at 21:30 CAT to watch as veteran journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby reveals Africa as it is; a diverse continent that is vibrant with energy, imagination, innovation, and talent, populated by a wide range of individuals and communities who face great challenges but approach them with optimism and resolve. Travelling from the Sahara to Nigeria, Dimbleby meets Africans who, so far from being victims of circumstance, have taken control of their own destinies. Then it’s southwards from the Horn of Africa, through Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. On the final leg of his epic journey, Dimbleby travels through Democratic Republic of Congo to Zambia and South Africa, the continent’s richest and most powerful nation and host of the 2010 World Cup Finals.
Big Cat Diary (Premiere): Kenya’s Masai Mara is one of the most extraordinary places in the world to watch lions, leopards and cheetahs in their natural environment. In Big Cat Diary, wildlife presenters Jonathan Scott and Simon King, together with six camera teams, document the daily lives of two lion prides, two cheetah families, and a mother leopard and her cub. DStv audiences can tune into BBC Knowledge from Monday 20 June at 20:00 CAT to watch births and deaths to fortunes and misfortunes. Life is forever unpredictable in the wilds of Africa, and it is this compelling natural narrative that Big Cat Diary captures so remarkably.
The History Of Safari With Richard E Grant (Premiere): For almost 100 years, big game hunters from Theodore Roosevelt to the British royal family travelled to East Africa to bag the ‘big five’. Now ‘eco safaris’ continue to drive the economies of countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. DStv audiences can tune into BBC Knowledge from Wednesday 29 June at 21:30 CAT to watch Richard E Grant as he follows the controversial history of the safari from its emergence out of the Arab slave trade and the decadent world of the big game hunters to the luxury eco-tour and the burgeoning modern hunting business. Along the way, this two-part documentary shows how, as ivory traders and trophy hunters decimated Africa’s wildlife, they also established the central relationships of imperial rule and, in order to protect their ‘sport’, introduced the first conservation laws. Ultimately, Richard’s exploration reveals how the nature of safari has been and continues to be a measure of our attitudes to big game, travel, colonial inheritance and Africa itself.
HISTORY (DStv Channel 254)
Ancients Behaving Badly (Premiere): In this new eight-part series, DStv audiences can tune into History from Sunday 5 June at 20:30 CAT to examine some of the world’s most fascinating, iconic, mythic, truly tyrannical leaders, all which each demonstrated a ruthlessness which is staggering by today’s standards. Through expert interviews, leading CGI effects and re-enactments, we will investigate the truth behind legendary characters such as Caligula, Attila the Hun, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Genghis Khan, Nero, Alexander the Great and Cleopatra, and how they really came to power. We cut through folklore to present an accurate portrait of our characters. We use the latest historical discoveries, forensic science tests, archaeological finds, analysis of torture instruments and battlefield dynamics to shed light on these leaders.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILD (DStv Channel 261)
Tiger Man of Africa: South African filmmaker, John ‘JV’ Varty, has spent some 40 years photographing and working with big cats. His efforts were instrumental in helping Londolozi Game Reserve become one of the world’s premiere spots to view wild leopards. As the 21st Century began, Varty turned his attention to arguably the most endangered of big cats – the tiger. He soon established Tiger Canyons near Philippolis, South Africa. DStv audiences can tune into National Geographic Wild on Thursday 16 June at 22:00 CAT to watch Tiger Man Of Africa as it covers two years in the lives of JV and his tigers.
CNN (DStv Channel 401)
Touching Base: Shot on location in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, Touching Base is a new documentary series that highlights talented young individuals from across Africa. Taking the form of inspiring and beautifully-crafted two-minute documentaries, the series shines a light on Africa’s new wave of creative entrepreneurs, spotlighting impressive game-changers from across the continent who are trailblazing in the fields of photography, fashion, illustration, art, filmmaking, music and more. DStv audiences can tune into MTV Base from Monday 6 June at 18:25 CAT to follow some of Africa’s most inspirational young entrepreneurs.
