Rolanda marais biography of albert

Diamond smuggling, rhino poaching and CIA conspiracies; if you had Sunday night plans, put them on pause. The first episode of Deon Meyer’s novel-turned-miniseries, Trackers, airs Sunday 27 October on M-Net, and you won&#;t want to miss it.

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The story follows several characters and their interwoven storylines and features a brilliant local and international cast. South African actress Rolanda Marais plays housewife-turned-spy Mila Strachan; Sandi Schultz stars as Janina Mentz, a chief police agent struggling to prevent a terror attack in Cape Town; and James Alexander plays a revenge-fuelled bodyguard named Lemmer. On the international front, English actor Ed Stoppard portrays CIA operative Lukas Becker. It&#;s a jam-packed plot with loads of twists and turns and is bound to have you glued to your screens.

But, before the series airs, here are a few things you might not have known about this exciting local production&#;

1. Finer details

The series was shot on various locations throughout SA &#; from Cape Town and Prince Albert to Bela Bela &#; so when you watch the episodes, look out for the finer details. The production team took great care to get them right. If a scene is set in Limpopo, bet the cars in the background have Limpopo number plates. Street names are also interesting to &#;track&#;.

2. Deon Meyer took control

The celebrated SA author, Deon Meyer, boldly took the initiative needed to approach production companies to turn his book into a TV series. While it usually goes the other way around, Deon said it was his idea to get the novel made into a series. Him and his production company partners started approaching international companies back in

Here he is with his wife on the red carpet at the exclusive premiere of Trackers&#;

3. It&#;s proudly South African

Despite the production team being a mix of local and British experts, the crew itself i

• There&#;s a dark side to the Waterfront. Are you ready to dive in?
• Family noir comes to both kykNET and Showmax in October as a co-production
• All-star cast includes the likes of Dawid Minnaar, Rolanda Marais, and Albert Pretorius
• Directed by multi-award-winning theatre director Jaco Bouwer

Showmax and kykNET have released the first trailer for Waterfront, a star-studded family noir set in the dark underbelly of one of South Africa’s most popular tourist attractions.

Boat-building patriarch Ben Myburgh (SAFTA nominee Dawid Minnaar) is dead. This brings his three daughters &#; Julia (Die Byl’s Milan Murray), Anna (Silwerskerm and Fleur du Cap nominee Rolanda Marais) and Kate (Die Boekklub’s Trix Vivier) &#; back to the family business at the Cape Town harbour. But only one of them will inherit the family empire in this dark story of secrets, sibling rivalry and gentrification.   

Silwerkskerm winners Albert Pretorius and Erica Wessels; Fleur du Cap winners Charlton Lee George, Paul du Toit and Stian Bam; and SAFTA nominee Neels van Jaarsveld co-star alongside familiar faces like Edwin van der Walt (Ballade vir ‘n Enkeling), Hannes van Wyk (Egoli, Kwela, danZ!)), Joanie Combrink and Marvin Lee Beukes (Die Byl), and Tarryn Wyngaard (Noem My Skollie).

But the real star of the show is the V&A Waterfront. “It’s such a wonderful place and has never been used in a drama series like this,” says producer Herman Binge from Lion’s Head Productions. 

The series is a reminder that this beauty came at a price: the gentrification that followed the development of the shopping centre in the 80s meant that not all of the Waterfront’s neighbours could afford to stay on what had become prime property. Even the likes of the Myburghs were put under immense pressure to move.

“When I was a child, the Waterfront was a kind of a ship dock,” remembers cast member Euodia Samson (