What happens when a bunch of television enthusiasts & freelance nomads come together, after constantly looking for an oasis that turns out to just be a mirage?

They create their own magic, define their own adventures, and get to do it together, on their own terms (well…there is always the teeny-weeny aspect of client input here and there). They also happen to find other nomads along the way and form a tribe.

They create their own magic, define their own adventures, and get to do it together, on their own terms (well…there is always the teeny-weeny aspect of client input here and there). They also happen to find other nomads along the way and form a tribe.

At afrOkaans we make TV, but all tv starts with believing in magic and storytelling is magic. Ours is to create content that not only gets real but content that shows the idiosyncrasies that make people complex and quirky in their own way, while they go through the ebbs and flows of life. Be it in a simulated set of scenarios like competing in endurance challenges on a remote island for 39 days or living in the most obscenely opulent villa, trying to figure out if you are meant to be or if there’s something better out there?

We believe in making TV with real people and real character arcs that inspire others through compelling storytelling. And of course, like any creator, we look for relatable real-world characters that either rub us the wrong way, inspire us to be more than what we think of ourselves, people who are bold enough to be their true selves, irrespective of what the world thinks and most importantly, characters we root for. Yes, we may occasionally want to slap the upside of their heads while screaming “why on earth would you do something so stupid?!”. Or cry at the demise of a villain who just so happens to be a tragic hero. We still invest in their journeys because like the rest of us, everyone has an origins story that guides them into being the masters of their own fate and captains of their own souls.

What’s my origins story? Well, it all started with an orb… just kidding, like many of my kin I’ve always had a knack for stories. It’s what helped me make friends in school or with the social anxiety that came with having a large extended family. The story was about how I escaped the domestic violence at home or expressed whatever I couldn’t share in therapy. While I am indebted to the film auteurs and writers for the solace, they gave me through their work. I also thank them for imparting the will to tell stories and that’s where my origins story with Afrokaans starts. Like any superhero movie I was a boring intern, the nerd who was socially awkward in group settings but had a bizarrely brilliant obsession with tv, that and liked the sound of my voice when I speak about the things that I believe in.

I had big dreams, but I had excessive stage fright about starting the blueprint to these dreams and to top it off, I had a best friend called Imposter Syndrome and her stepsister Fear telling me I couldn’t make it and that I should shut up and well stick to my day job. I did stick to my day job, and I hated every minute of it, in fact, I spent more time crying in the bathroom cubicle and berating myself for being talentless than finding joy in what later became an opportunity for me to find my new home and tribe afrOkaans.

I am a liker of things.

My previous mentor used to say, “you’re the superhero that needs to see their superpowers or else you’re going to die” as an analogy for “you’re going to die in corporate, leave and explore before your wings are clipped”. I didn’t get it at the time, I was busy asking myself about my voice. A voice I didn’t believe I had. When I joined afrOkaans, I was a fish out of the water, all I knew was that I wanted to be a writer and had no idea what I was doing working for a company that does reality when I struggle with the burdens of my own reality. But Handrie saw something else – I’ve always known that there was a magic to his glasses. He believed in my potential and saw a nomad that could fit in while what I just saw was a blank page still figuring out what to write and whether I was worthy of telling stories.

So, I spent about two years grafting, paying Dumbledore’s debt for letting me into Hogwarts even though I still didn’t think I had the gift of magic until I started working on content. Did it start with sitting in on casting sessions, putting in input here and there because well? I am a liker of things. To being thrown into the deep end and taught how to develop content and content direction which eventually will lead me to one-day series directing.  afrOkaans gave me a chance to find myself, find my passion and ultimately my voice but in the grand scheme of things, I found a home. I found my tribe who accept my awkward humour endearing and my overzealous motor mouth quirky. It is here that I lowered my anchor and set ashore, it is here that I have felt disappointment from my shortcomings, joy from winning and peace from being accepted and adore irrespective of the flaws.

In closing, here at afrOkaans, we create brilliance through opportunities given to young talented minds that not only form part of the company ethos but part of the DNA of storytelling in the most earnest, empathetic way, staying true to the narrative pillars of the story itself. We let creatives within our tribe dream big then have our execs help us make the dream possible, literally, and logistically of course with clients that dream just as boldly as we do.