Two of the country’s top talents have signed on as red carpet presenters for the
South Africa Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) 2016: actor, dancer and
choreographer, Somizi Mhlongo; and arts and entertainment journalist, Nadia
Neophytou.
Somizi Mhlongo presented and appeared as a guest on shows such as 10 Over
10, City Ses’la, Dance Your Butt Off and Zero Tolerance. He
was also a judge on Idols SA. He has also appeared in movies such as
Sarafina!, Cry the Beloved Country and Scavengers.
Mhlongo says: “Taking this gig was less about the money and more about being a
part of history, and the biggest event on the awards calendar in South Africa. I’m
looking forward to bringing something different, something “rattata’, something
Somizi, to the SAFTAs 2016 red carpet as a presenter.’
Born in Benoni and now based in New York City, Neophytou has interviewed the
likes of Oprah, Forest Whitaker and Meryl Streep. She’s covered amongst others the
Cannes Film Festival, the Oscars, Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday Concert in New
York, and the Royal Wedding. She’s received the Nedbank Arts Journalist of the
Year award and her work has appeared in various print publications and reports
regularly for a local news site.
“I am very excited to be heading home to SA to co-host the SAFTAs red carpet.
Whenever I cover a film festival or awards ceremony and see a South African doing
well, it makes me incredibly proud, so I’m looking forward to interviewing the
filmmakers, producers, actors and TV stars who’ve been nominated. I’m looking
forward to seeing who takes home the Golden Horn,’ says Neophytou.
