Zoe Mthiyane

Two storylines involving artists in lockdown intersect in this South African drama about creativity, mindfulness and wellbeing. Jabu is an ambitious auteur plagued by demons, who accepts a place on the jury at a film festival in Johannesburg so he can be closer to his young son. He has been clean for months now, and is working on the side as part of the scriptwriting team for the most popular soap in South Africa. All with the aim of becoming the father he previously failed to be. Roxanne is a filmmaker on the verge of her international breakthrough, struggling with an unwanted pregnancy – which in South Africa cannot legally be terminated.

A talented young woman from a rural village travels to the "Big City" of Johannesburg, South Africa to become a Star. She lands a role in a musical play about Zulu Queen Mkabayi, Shaka's Aunt and searches for her identity as a Performer, a Zulu, a Woman and a Daughter. Will she be able to keep up with her more seasoned fellow performers, avoid the jealous machinations of the aging leading lady and survive the punishing rehearsal schedule to make it to opening night and shine like the star she is? "She is King" is a joyous celebration of Zulu culture in a glossy contemporary setting, showing off Joburg as the "Broadway of Africa".