Idris Elba shoots new film in SA, a ‘number one film location’

Beast will hit SA screens this August. Photo: supplied

A new movie starring Idris Elba was shot entirely in South Africa, and according to its producer, SA was a number one film location for them.

Beast will hit SA screens this August. Photo: @wordfish978 / twitter

Hollywood comes to South Africa

Beast, a new thriller about a father and his two teenage daughters who find themselves hunted by a massive lion, stars Hollywood sensation, Idris Elba, and was shot in our beautiful country. According to SA People, the film was shot entirely in South Africa, with some of the locations being Cape Town, Limpopo and Northern Province. The final showdown in the movie was filmed in the Northern Cape, along the Namibian border.

The film’s director, Baltasar Kormákur, says that viewers will get to see both South Africa and Namibia in some of the shots.

James Lopez, who was the producer on the movie, says that they were very proud to be able to bring a production of that size to South Africa.

“We’ve seen first-hand what an impact a production like this can have on the local people in the region. The story is set in a game reserve and when we talked about different places to film, South Africa was number one on the list.” Lopez said.

Lopez added that the film industry in South Africa was strong, and that as soon as they had arrived and scouted the area, they knew that they had made the right decision.

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Idris Elba in a starring role

In the movie, Idris Elba stars as Nate Daniels, a father of two teenage daughters who he has to protect when they all find themselves hunted by a rogue lion in the African bush. The film also co-stars South African actor, Sharlto Copley, along with Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries. It was reportedly very important for the filmmakers that most of the supporting cast be South African.

“You will hear some Venda spoken in the film,” Lopez said.

Lopez also added that they wanted to ensure that they honoured the region in terms of casting, dialect and arcitecture, so they made sure to use actual town and location names.

The movie will be in South African cinemas on Friday, 12 August 2022. Check out the trailer below:

Sundeeka Mungroo

Sundeeka Mungroo is a content writer, foodie and all-round adventure-seeker. She's a graduate of the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, and has worked as a copywriter and editor in the digital marketing industry. Sundeeka currently writes for I Love South Africa and The South African. She lives in the beautiful Mother City and loves exploring all that South Africa has to offer.