Freestyle Digital Media, the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, has acquired U.S. VOD rights to the foreign language surreal drama anthology of 4 South African short films, HYPERLINK, which will be available to rent/own on all U.S. digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms, as well as on DVD, starting on July 12, 2024, through Freestyle Digital Media.
An anthology of four shorts which examine the risks, perils, and the illusory reality of the internet and surveillance culture, HYPERLINK was directed by South African filmmakers Mzonke Maloney, Nolitha Mkulisi, Julie Nxadi and Evan Wigdorowitz. Presented in multiple languages (English, French, IsiXhosa, and IsiZulu with English subtitles), these young South African makers reflect on the seductive, and at times treacherous, illusory reality of the internet. In one short, a Christian convert is preparing for his rebirth as a man of God – unaware that his teenage daughter, who hasn’t heard from him in three months, has declared him dead on social media. In the next short, a schoolgirl sees her private life made public when she invites a classmate, who is an online influencer, to her home. In the third short, a divorced man with financial troubles so much wants to show his young daughter he can be a good father, that he fails to see the precarious position into which he is maneuvering himself. And in the fourth short, a poet and commentator risks losing herself and those she loves in her desire to use her fame to achieve social change.
Written and directed by filmmakers Mzonke Maloney, Evan Wigdorowitz, Nolitha Mkulisi, and Julie Nxadi, HYPERLINK was produced by Nolitha Mkulisi, Håkon Ludvik Grønvold, and Petrus van Staden. The HYPERLINK featured casts include Lindile Manyonta (‘Jerry’), Vela Zozo (‘Phoop’) , Chantal Malonga (‘Nada’), Sibulele Gcilitshana (‘Sibu’), Tessa Jubber (‘Kate’) Nambita Ntsaluba (‘Nams’) Neo Leoka (‘Neo’), Leon Clingman (‘Yossi’), Adrian Galley (‘Dov’), Balindile Ka Ngcobo (‘Khona’), Nandi Jakuja (‘Nandi’).
“This experiment was inspired by notorious incidents on the internet and social media in a specific context,” said filmmaker Nolitha Mkulisi. “It felt relevant to make it at that time, soon after the pandemic ensued, literally leaving people to their electronic devices. We always knew it had to end up somewhere it was inspired by. It was a labour of love with a shoestring budget. This exposure has exceeded our expectations and feels more surreal than the film. We’re deeply honoured to share it with this wide of an audience.”
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire HYPERLINK directly with Nolitha Mkulisi and Brown Flamingo Productions
