20 February 2023

Girl, Taken (2022)

Named Best South African Documentary Film at the 2022 Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), Girl, Taken is the incredible story of two parents whose baby was stolen at birth, who miraculously found her 17 years later, and who then lost her again…

Girl, Taken was co-directed by multi-award-winners Francois Verster and Simon Wood, whose previous collaboration, Scenes From a Dry City, was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy, earned a Special Mention at AFI Docs, and was named World Press Photo Online Video of the Year.

The 92-minute documentary follows Celeste and Morne Nurse, whose baby daughter Zephany was stolen from hospital three days after her birth in Cape Town, April 1997. For 17 years, the devastated couple searched for Zephany, regularly making media appeals, hiring private detectives and following false leads.

Then in 2015, their second daughter, Cassidy, enrolled in a new school, where other pupils pointed out an older pupil, Miche Solomon, who looked much like her. DNA samples confirmed that Miche was Zephany, and, incredibly, she had grown up only a few miles from the Nurse’s home. The Nurses were overjoyed, and the story saw them becoming media darlings around the world.
However, the arrest and trial of the seamstress whom Miche knew as her loving mother devastated her and ultimately, she chose to remain with the kidnapper’s family. The Nurses, against all expectations, lost their daughter a second time. This film follows the process of two broken families climbing the difficult path towards forgiveness and wholeness.

“It could have been sensationalist, but it wasn't,” said the DIFF jury, praising the “twists and turns” and “many complexities and different layers” of the “real human story about family.” Similarly, alongside its international release on Paramount+, Heat (UK) gave Girl, Taken four stars, calling it “compelling and heartbreaking stuff.”

Watch now

More like this

Documentaries

Flight 149: Hostage of War is on Showmax

Flight 149: Hostage of War (2025)

When Flight 149 landed in Kuwait, its passengers became pawns in Saddam's invasion, held as human shields. Decades later, survivors seek justice and the truth.

First

Tracking Thabo Bester

A documentary about the convicted murderer and rapist who did not die in Cell 35 but was instead seen shopping in Sandton City. Two episodes 15 March, final episodes 22 March on Showmax.

OriginalMade in South Africa

5 reasons to pick up HBO’s Telemarketers

Scam caller alert! Five reasons to find out who’s really cashing in on a job that everyone hates, in the HBO documentary series The Telemarketers.

Telemarketers

Two former telemarketers team up to investigate the dark side of American capitalism, uncovering widespread abuse of customer trust.

The Zulu brothers on The Wife now on Showmax

10 game-changing shows to celebrate Showmax turning 10

Stream these original titles to celebrate Showmax turning 10. A decade later, streaming service has since expanded to 44 African countries.

OriginalMade in South Africa

The Weeknd Live at Sofi Stadium

In front of an adoring sold-out crowd in Los Angeles, The Weeknd brings fans up close with this intimate and epic special concert event.

My Mom Jayne (2025)

Mariska Hargitay assembles a new portrait of her mother, Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield, showing what an extraordinary and complex woman she was.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story on Showmax

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)

Christopher Reeve rose to fame as a celebrated actor before a near-fatal riding accident left him paralysed. This award-winning and Emmy-nomintead documentary was produced by South African Robert Ford.

First