''Catching Feelings'' is a 2017 South African romantic

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film written, co-produced and directed by

Kagiso Lediga Kagiso Lediga (born 6 May 1978) is a South African Tswana comedian, actor, writer and director. He is the creator and executive producer of the Netflix crime drama ''Queen Sono'' which was released on 28 February 2020. Lediga has written and dir ...

. It stars Lediga,

Pearl Thusi Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi (born 13 May 1988) is a South African actress, model, and presenter. She is known for her roles as Patricia Kopong in the BBC/ HBO comedy-drama series ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'', Dayana Mampasi in the A ...

, Andrew Buckland,

Akin Omotoso Akin Omotoso (born 1974) is a Nigerian film director, writer, and actor. He is best known for directing the 2022 film ''Rise''. Both his father Kole Omotoso and his sister Yewande Omotoso are also writers. Early life and education Omotoso was ...

, Precious Makgaretsa, Kate Liquorish, Tessa Jubber and

Loyiso Gola Loyiso Gola (born 16 May 1983) is a South African stand-up and TV comedian. He is the co-creator and anchor of the late-night satirical news television series '' Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola'' on e.tv and eNCA, launched in 2010, and has perf ...

. The film was released on 9 March 2018, by

United International Pictures United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...

and

Ster-Kinekor Ster-Kinekor is a South African-based cinema company, and the country's largest movie exhibitor. It represents 60-65% of the market, having 56 cinema complexes consisting of 400 screens and 64,000 seats; 154 of those screens being 3D cinemas. It ...

. The film was available to stream worldwide on 18 May 2018, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

Plot

The film follows the story of an "urbane young academic and his beautiful wife, as their lives get turned upside down when a celebrated and hedonistic older

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

moves into their

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

home with them".

Cast

as Max Matsane *

as Samkelo *

as Joel *Precious Makgaretsa as Lazola Yoko *Andrew Buckland as Heiner Miller *Zandile Tisani as Kabelo *Kate Liquorish as Tabitha *Tyson Cross as Miles *Tessa Jubber as Nicole *

as Zweli

Production

The film was shot in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and Johannesburg,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, in 2016. It is dedicated to the memory of John Volmink, a South African filmmaker who died in 2017.

Release

The film premiered at the 2017

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

on 18 June 2017. The film was released on 9 March 2018 in South Africa. On 18 May 2018, the film was available to stream worldwide on

Reception

The film has received favorable reviews from critics. On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website,

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.25/10. Film critic Phumlani S. Langa of '' City Press South Africa'' gave the film four stars out of five, saying "Lediga and Thusi both deliver solid performances in this classy and stylish

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

. This is probably my favourite Thusi pic. tplays a little like a personal classic, oody Allen's''

Midnight in Paris ''Midnight in Paris'' is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materialis ...

'', without the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

aspect. Honestly, it's local and lekker."

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt5827360, Catching Feelings 2017 films 2017 romantic drama films 2010s English-language films Films shot in Gauteng Films shot in the Western Cape English-language Netflix original films English-language South African films South African romantic drama films