South African comedy flick, Real Estate Sisters, is set to premiere globally on Netflix this weekend.
This follows a recent special screening of the film in New York, after its premiere at the Joburg Film Festival in February.
Written by Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt (who also directs) and Zoe Ramushu, Real Estate Sisters the film is produced by Moeti-Vogt and Ramushu’s Totem Zea, a 100 per cent Black female-owned company, with the support of South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Real Estate Sisters marks the company’s debut feature film.
Described as a “love letter” to Moeti-Vogt’s hometown, Pretoria, the film is set in South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria, celebrating the beautiful, cosmopolitan city. It follows the antics of two broke, sassy sisters who run a struggling real estate agency but aspire to move from selling run-down apartments in shoddy parts of the city to selling high-end suburban homes. Things start looking up when they are approached to sell a multi-million Rand mansion in the exclusive Waterkloof, that is until they stumble upon a dead body in the basement. Both ladies, determined not to lose this opportunity, must outwit scary underworld figures and keep a potential buyer on the hook.
The film stars Gina Koffman (The River, Izwe lani Nawe) Leera Mthethwa (Ses’topla, Gomora), Lerato Makheta (eKasie: Our Stories, Isidingo), Marcus Mabusela (iNumber Number, I am all Girls), Sibongile Nojila (Skeem Saam, Isidingo), Jerry Chirindza, Sammy Fever, Jude Ben O’Donovan and Karin van der Laag (Story of an African Farm, God is African).
“The city has always been an inspiration to me, this world has shaped my voice and coloured the lens through which I tell stories”, remarked Moeti-Vogt.
After its New York screening, co-writer Zoe Ramushu took a moment to reflect on her filmmaking journey.
“After leaving New York with a Student Oscar nomination under my belt, it was great to come back to the city with Totem Zea’s short which screened at the Lincoln Center in 2022 and again, now, with this Totem Zea-produced film, from Africa, proving that where you’re based, the colour of your skin, your age – nothing should limit your dreams and ambition as a young Black woman.”
Distributed by leading South African niche film company Indigenous Film Distribution, Real Estate Sisters is one of 6 micro-budget projects supported through a joint film fund by Netflix and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport Arts and Culture of South Africa. The fund was established to alleviate the pressure filmmakers face to raise additional funding and boost recovery of the creative industry from the pandemic, whilst ensuring job creation.
Real Estate Sisters is available on Netflix from Friday 26th April.