Sundance TV debuts on DStv in South Africa on 1 June

AMC Networks International (AMCNI) – UK has announced that it will launch SundanceTV in South Africa for the first time, on channel 108. SundanceTV, which celebrates independent feature films, world cinema, documentaries as well as outstanding original drama series, will launch on Thursday 1 June exclusively to DStv Premium customers as a 24/7 linear HD channel.

Louise Cottrell, Vice President, Affiliate Sales for AMCNI UK, said: “SundanceTV will offer a selection of award-winning and locally appealing programming exclusively to audiences in South Africa. We’re excited to launch this premium channel for the first time in South Africa on the DStv platform, which reinforces our long-standing partnership with MultiChoice, Africa’s leading video entertainment provider.”

“We’ve listened to what our customers are saying about our content, and are committed to bring them more fresh content more often and fewer repeats. SundanceTV will bring great variety through its high quality art movies and unforgettable series. We’re confident our customers will welcome SundanceTV to the DStv family and into their homes,” commented Aletta Alberts, Head of Content for MultiChoice.

SundanceTV is a renowned global brand, true to the vision of its founder Robert Redfordto celebrate creativity. It offers a compelling mix of exclusive festival films and original drama series and delivers an upscale and highly engaged audience of films and series fanatics.

Launched in 1996, SundanceTV showcases today’s creative icons and the emerging talent of tomorrow while celebrating the unique spirit of creativity and independent storytelling established by the world-renowned annual Sundance Film Festival.

SundanceTV showcases award-winning films from the Festival, many of which are seen exclusively on the network. The channel will also broadcast internationally acclaimed and popular original drama series from AMC studios and other leading distributors such as Fear the Walking Dead, Into the Badlands and Breaking Bad, among others.

Another great series which starts in June is The Son, starring Pierce Brosnan. It’s a sweeping saga spanning 150 years and three generations of the McCullough family and is based on the best-selling novel of the same name.

Some of the great Film Festival Selections which will premiere on the channel, includes the gripping documentary Cries from Syria, which bears witness to the resiliency of the people of Syria in the wake of their exposure to unthinkable crimes against humanity. I Smile Back is an unflinchingly authentic and humanising portrait of a suburban wife and mother dealing with depression and disillusionment that send her careening into a secret world of reckless compulsion.

The Eyes of My Mother is the debut movie from writer/director Nicolas Pesce and is the tale of Francisca. She grows up in a secluded farmhouse where her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, teaches her to understand anatomy and be unfazed by death. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor horrifyingly shatters the idyll of Francisca’s family life, deeply traumatizing the young girl, but also awakening some unique curiosities. Though she clings to her increasingly reticent father, Francisca’s loneliness and scarred nature converge years later when her longing to connect with the world around her takes on a distinctly dark form.