14 March 2018
Stream the African classic that inspired Beyonce and Jay-Z’s viral new shoot
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgOcB2slHoQ/
Beyonce took to Instagram to announce her new On The Run II stadium tour with Jay-Z, with a striking poster image of the couple on a bull-skull-trimmed motorbike, inspired by Djibril Diop Mambety’s Touki Bouki, a classic Senegalese film from 1973. Her Instagram post racked up over 3m views in under 24 hours.
Available to stream on Showmax in Africa, Touki Bouki is the story of two lovers – a cowherd and a university student – who dream of escaping to Paris from Dakar.
Winner of the FIPRESCI Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973, among other awards, Touki Bouki is widely considered a classic of world cinema, regularly appearing on lists like Sight & Sound’s 100 Greatest Films Of All Time and Empire’s 100 Best Films Of World Cinema.
Beyonce’s not the first celebrity to celebrate it. Oscar-winning Martin Scorsese (acclaimed director of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, also on Showmax) hailed Touki Bouki as “something else again… A cinematic poem made with a raw, wild energy… Touki Bouki explodes one image at a time.” Touki Bouki was digitally restored as part of Scorsese’s World Cinema Project.
Watch Scorsese discussing Touki Bouki here:
TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe similarly hailed it as “A favourite. Beautiful. Fully punk.”
More than 40 years after its release, it still has an 83% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The New Yorker praising its “incisive and flamboyant” imagery; The Village Voice calling it “a cult film” and a “fanciful tale of mad love in the noonday sun”; It’s Nice That claiming that it has “the most delicate sex scene ever”; and Basia Lewandowska Cummings calling it “one of my favourite films of all time” in Africa Is A Country.
Watch Touki Bouki now on Showmax »
Don’t have Showmax yet?
Untied, coming to Showmax
The Real Housewives of Durban S5, now streaming
More Mzansi gold
Youngins stars tease the final season at Showmax Youth Day event
Youngins stars Kealeboga Masango and Toka Mtabane recently confirmed that Season 3 will be coming to Showmax. They reflect on its cultural impact and teased what viewers can expect in the upcoming season.
Made in South Africa
Minnie Ntuli talks about joining The Real Housewives of Durban S5
Minnie opens up about joining Season 5 of The Real Housewives of Durban, and where things stand with Londie. New episodes land Friday on Showmax.
Made in South Africa
Where to see the cast of Shaka iLembe S1-2 on Showmax
From Nomzamo Mbatha as Queen Nandi to Lemogang Tsipa as King Shaka Zulu and Thembinkosi Mthembu as King Dingiswayo, see the cast of Shaka iLembe in some of their other acclaimed roles on Showmax.
South African
The F-Show (2025)
The F-Show features a strong roster led by one of South Africa’s favourite comedians skewering the daily chaos that comes with being South African.
Made in South Africa