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Daily Maverick
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Adam — a raw exploration of masculinity, race and resilience
Adam challenges traditional ideas of manhood through the story of a young man navigating the harsh realities of a strict farm school in South Africa. Drawing from personal experiences and social influences, directors Liyema Speelman and Winford Collings craft a powerful narrative about identity, belonging and breaking free from outdated norms. Liyema Speelman, co-director of the powerful new drama Adam, challenges traditional binaries through the story of a young man confronting the weight of patriarchy and finding healing in its aftermath. More than just a coming-of-age story, Adam offers a raw look at the emotional armour young men are expected to wear, to hide any sort of vulnerability. Fresh out of high school, Adam is trying to define his identity while learning to survive the harsh realities of a rigid farm school. Resilience, he discovers, isn't a choice; it's a lifeline. Directed by Speelman and Winford Collings, the film is part of Showmax's first-time directors slate in partnership with the Joburg Film Festival. The duo began working on Adam in 2023. After its premiere on 4 May, Speelman spoke to Daily Maverick about the inspirations and personal reflections that shaped the film. Adam, played by Marko Voster, is a hot-headed teenager questioning the next steps for his future after finishing high school. Without any warning, Adam is sent to a technical farm school to give him a new sense of direction. As he gets used to his new environment, Adam is forced to leave his 'old identity' behind and 'toughen up'. From the moment Adam arrives at the farm school it's clear that discipline – and abuse – reigns supreme. The institution, founded by the late father of its authoritarian headmaster (played by Dirk Stoltz), is steeped in legacy. But that legacy casts a long shadow that pushes the headmaster into an obsessive drive to live up to his father's image, ultimately leading him towards unravelling. Adam becomes a target of the built-up rage that the headmaster carries. While his schoolmates try to stay out of harm, Adam suffers, often in isolation, and is fearful to speak up. The brutal abuse he endures forces him to confront and redefine what strength and manhood truly mean. Why is this film relevant today? Adam is reminiscent of the popular South African original film, Moffie, directed by Oliver Hermanus, which came out in 2021. Both films explore initiation through the lens of military training, often portrayed as a rite of passage meant to transform boys into men. Adam draws inspiration from the personal experiences of both directors. Speelman reflects on his time growing up in an all-boys school in Port Elizabeth, which he attended from Grade 1. He recalls how slurs and name-calling, often with references to cult cartoon South Park, were a normalised part of daily life. 'If [these] are the only things that you have known, it becomes an afterthought,' he says, 'but soon this afterthought makes you realise that the 'normality' there is slightly incorrect. 'It takes us as filmmakers to kind of mirror [those experiences] and simply create a new path or give new suggestions as to what people should be doing nowadays.' Andrew Tate and the influence of the manosphere Even today, boys and men are often taught, whether subtly or forcefully, that showing emotion is a weakness. At the farm school, Adam's lack of athleticism sets him apart, and he's punished for it. Beyond the film, social media adds to the pressure, with hyper-masculine influencers pushing harmful ideals onto young and often vulnerable minds. Adam challenges this mindset, offering raw, emotional moments that reveal there's real strength in vulnerability. The directors were also inspired by the 1985 film Come and See, directed by Elem Klimlov. The film explores the heavy burden placed on young men sent to the army, expected to carry the weight of saving their country. Adam is their creative way of engaging with and imagining life within that world. Speelman explains that Come and See 'looks at the idea of boys going to war and being excited about the idea of becoming men and then being utterly terrorised, disenchanted and disillusioned by that idea of masculinity. More recently, in March 2025, Adolescence, the Netflix original series, sparked much-needed conversations around hyper-masculinity and male rage. Speaking to Speelman about the series, he points to Andrew Tate, one of the most infamous influencers known for promoting misogynistic content. 'Andrew Tate has become this beacon of fiery strong men, but it's a false archetype, a false god. 'With the rise of Andrew Tate, there's this anger that's fostered within a lot of young men because there's an element where a lot of their identity was grounded on this old idea of what a man is. 'The man essentially is the ketch of the household, he's the breadwinner but when a lot of those ideas are challenged, where now you're not the breadwinner and you feel like you're not needed, you feel left out and I think that's where there's this growing rage that I've been watching is simmering.' Talking about race Race is a subtle but important theme in the film, reflecting the directors' perspectives as men of colour. Through characters like Liam and Davey, the film highlights the experience of a boy of colour in a mostly white farm school. Although Adam isn't a man of colour, his close relationship with Liam, built on shared struggles with harsh punishments, allows the story to explore how race intersects with power and belonging. Dillon Windvogel as Liam. Speelman explains that 'the racial bodies in the film become that bridge within South African society of creating a friendship. But also [help us] truly understand one another to essentially move forward as one union.' Adam may not have visual components as strong as those in Adolescence and Moffie, but its stripped-down aesthetic is a memorable component of the film. It also taps into a deeper sense of stillness, which Speelman says was intentional. His reasoning behind some inert moments in the film is that 'a lot of emotions, especially through cinema, sometimes are rushed through. I think the type of cinema that I gravitate towards is very arthouse. Within that arthouse, you have to sit within the uncomfortability, and that is where the lessons stick a lot more.' Cinematographer Gray Kotze creates an intimate relationship between the viewer and the characters, and with an eye for documentary, he was able to immerse the viewers in Adam's world. DM
Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Stalking Minister Schreiber at the e-Governance Conference in Estonia
Daily Maverick was invited to Estonia as a guest of the minister of foreign affairs to attend the African Business Forum and 11th annual e-Governance Conference, and experience the EU's premier digital society — stalking Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber for an interview was optional. Sometimes the best stories happen in the margins. While Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber was behind closed doors at the e-Governance Conference in Tallinn, Estonia, with Estonian President Alar Karis, I found myself in conversations that revealed as much about South Africa's digital transformation challenge as any high-level diplomatic exchange could. At least that's what I told myself after being blocked from following the delegates into the meeting room. The Ukraine Defence Tech stand is right next to the entrance hall for those meeting rooms, so I head over to chat to Anastasiia Kapranova, the Ukraine Ministry of Defence lead for international engagement on defence digitalisation, about the lessons the war-torn nation may have for developing digital economies. Downside? I need to lead with an apology for South Africa's neutrality, which is born out of our allegiance with Russia. War is a great digital accelerator To her credit (or maybe it was my charm), she doesn't flinch when I say the quiet diplomacy part out loud. She's focused on something else entirely: how a crisis becomes a catalyst. 'The full-scale war showed us that we have to completely shift the focus and move from the peacetime solution to the wartime solutions,' she tells me, standing next to displays of Ukraine's Delta combat system and Army Plus Reserve Plus platforms. What strikes me isn't just the sophistication of the technology, but the philosophy behind it. Ukraine has been 'sharing the knowledge that we gained … um … at very high cost at the cost of our people's lives' to help allies 'increase their resilience through the digitalisation'. It's digitisation born from necessity, stripped of bureaucratic niceties and focused purely on what works. The lesson for South Africa isn't about war — it's about urgency. While we debate timelines and processes, Ukraine rebuilt its entire digital infrastructure under fire. 'A lot of, especially, technological development in Ukraine is done bottom up,' explains Kapranova. 'It is important to listen, to hear and to empower those who have knowledge and skills.' WhatsApp, Mr Minister? That bottom-up philosophy feels particularly relevant when I go over my notes from an earlier conversation with fellow South African Mitchell Ron Black — Schreiber was at an offsite lunch. Black is a South African entrepreneur (with links to Rise Mzansi) whose company, Wakamoso Africa, is tackling what he calls the 'invisible data problem' — the fact that 'the type of granular data to build financial profiles on South Africans of colour doesn't exist in the systems', making them 'appear as less bankable by default'. The solution is elegantly simple: a WhatsApp-first platform that turns CVs into 'micro income-generating assets', paying users in airtime when their skills match job searches. It's the kind of grassroots innovation that should excite government officials committed to digital transformation. Except it doesn't, apparently. Black recounts his interaction with Schreiber: 'As soon as he heard that we were working on WhatsApp, the reaction was, 'Oh, we should probably start looking at that'.' Black says he has been 'tossed from pillar to post' trying to engage with the government and mobilise funding outside of a limited pilot project in Uitsig (the Cape Town one), despite having a ready-to-scale solution. 'There's no clear focus on innovation.' The yawning gap between ambition and implementation When I do finally get my interview with Schreiber after his presidential meeting, his enthusiasm is infectious. The conference had brought 'even greater clarity' to South Africa's digital transformation goals. He spoke passionately about Estonia as a benchmark, and he has five key commitments: eVisas, smart IDs, the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system, expanded bank branch integration and courier delivery options. His November deadline for the ETA ahead of the G20 summit shows accountability. 'We're absolutely on track,' he insists. But there's a disconnect between the high-level vision and the reality facing South African innovators like Black, who, despite being 'owed a couple million rand in government funding that just never appeared', continues bootstrapping solutions while waiting for the state to catch up. Estonia's patient capital model This gap became clearer in conversations about Estonia's approach to African partnerships. The European Union's Global Gateway strategy, promising to 'invest €150-billion [about R3-trillion] in Africa by 2027', represents significant resources. But accessing these requires navigating complex procurement processes and finding the right partnerships — something that seems particularly challenging for South African startups caught between government indifference and funding gaps. For African entrepreneurs, Estonia's e-residency programme offers an intriguing workaround. Incorporating in Estonia can 'derisk the project' for European investors and open up grant possibilities, particularly for seed-stage startups. It's a pragmatic solution to funding challenges, though one that exports local talent and IP. Perhaps the most telling observation came from Dr Armid Azadeh, founder of the medtech solutions company OnCall, representing Namibian perspectives on digital transformation. While acknowledging Estonia's offerings, he noted, 'We ourselves feel we're a Namibian company and that is our brand — proudly Namibian.' For countries with stable systems, the benefits of offshoring incorporation are less compelling. This touches on something deeper: the question of digital sovereignty versus digital pragmatism. South Africa wants to be digitally transformed, but on whose terms? Using whose platforms? With whose data? Black's vision extends beyond individual solutions to 'creating digital twins of these communities' that provide 'microeconomic granular data to start better trending' for government planning. It's the kind of locally rooted, socially conscious innovation that could transform lives. But it requires what he calls 'patient partners over time' — something in short supply in both government and local investment circles. Beyond the taglines Watching Schreiber network with Estonian officials while Ukrainian innovators showcase crisis-forged solutions and South African entrepreneurs struggle for recognition, the challenge becomes clear. South Africa's digital transformation won't be solved by adopting Estonia's model wholesale, or by securing EU funding, or even by delivering the ETA system on time. It requires bridging the gap between ministerial ambition and grassroots innovation, between international benchmarking and local implementation. The tools exist. The talent exists. Even the political will, in its way, exists. What's missing is the connective tissue — the systems and relationships that turn individual innovations into societal transformation. Ukraine learned this lesson the hard way, with Kapranova explaining how putting 'people who we serve in the government at the core of our digital products' builds trust and preserves identity. Estonia learned it through decades of patient institution-building. DM
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
College housing struggles, NSFAS woes force Free State students into dismal conditions
Students at Flavius Mareka TVET College are being forced to stay in unsafe and inadequate digs as the institution battles a growing housing crisis. With finances tight and infrastructure lacking, an estimated 80% of students are without accommodation. Flavius Mareka Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College, located in Sasolburg and Kroonnstad in the Free State and comprising three campuses – Sasolburg Technical College, Kroonstad Technical College and Mphohadi College – is in the grip of a severe accommodation crisis. College principal Bhekithemba Nkonyane confirmed the dire situation, telling Daily Maverick that there were few adequate private student housing facilities. 'It is true that most of our students are not living in proper accommodation from private service providers. Those who do not have their own accommodation have really been struggling, and our college is one of those where students are forced to stay in very uncomfortable conditions because private providers take advantage of them,' Nkonyane said. An oversight visit by the Democratic Alliance councillor in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality, where the Sasolburg campus is situated, uncovered the poor conditions. Councillor Phemelo Tabile said the college had no clear plan to resolve the crisis. 'The student accommodation across the college is a big issue. They only have three accommodations and rely on private providers. They need over 1,000 beds to accommodate students. At the moment, they say they cannot do anything because they have no funding to address these issues… Most of these houses are in a bad state, it's an informal setup and not conducive for students to live in,' said Tabile. Nkonyane said about 5,000 students were enrolled at the college this semester, most of whom were from outside Sasolburg. The demand for accommodation was critical. He said that about 80% of the students lacked housing and were left to solve the issue themselves. 'If you have students coming from Bloemfontein, they will need accommodation and almost 80% of those 5,000 need housing,' Nkonyane said. In another oversight visit conducted by the South African Students' Congress (Sasco) and the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu), it was discovered that the toilets at Flavius Mareka College residences were unhygienic, with the inside infrastructure, including doors and ceilings, in a poor state. Student outcry over poor accommodation Students living in private housing told Daily Maverick that they were struggling. No one from the college, or landlords, had been helpful. Kearabestsoe Mapogoshe, a first-year student from Gauteng studying general management at Sasolburg Technical College, said, 'We are struggling in terms of accommodation. The landlords are not fixing their property because there are leaks in the roof, rats keep coming, and when we complain, landlords tell us that we need to leave. 'We are sharing a little room paying R1,500, and when NSFAS was not paying, we were almost chased out, but I received funding in April, so I was able to pay. 'We want the management of the school to do something about this.' A second-year Sasolburg Technical College student from Mpumalanga, who wanted to remain anonymous, said, 'Our rooms are not safe and we have been neglected… Sometimes we contribute on our own to purchase electricity. Since last year, the toilets have not been hygienic and the landlord just sends us R50 for plastic bags. Our drainage system is bad, and the beds are not in good condition. The microwaves and stoves were damaged – we had to ask engineering students to help us. I pay R1,000 per month.' NSFAS payment delays add to student hardships Compounding the crisis is the delayed payment from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), leaving many students unable to pay rent. This has resulted in evictions. Boitumelo Majoe, Sasco president at Flavius Mareka, described the situation as dire, especially now, during exam season. Majoe said students had tried to raise the issue of inadequate accommodation, a situation that had led to unrest. Added to this were the delayed NSFAS rental payments. 'We tried to check with them [NSFAS], but because the offices are in Cape Town, we cannot reach them… Students are living in groups at accommodations and some have gone home,' said Majoe. Students at TVET colleges across the country have been evicted from private accommodation. In April, Daily Maverick reported that students from Waterberg TVET college in Lebowakgomo campus were evicted by landlords after NSFAS paid students, instead of landlords, directly. Majoe said that some landlords had evicted Flavius Mareka students due to NSFAS non-payment. 'Most of our students were kicked out because NSFAS didn't pay. We tried to engage with letters to say, 'guys, please, there is a challenge with NSFAS we are dealing with', but the landlords are arrogant.' Nkonyane told Daily Maverick that the institution was now in talks with NSFAS to address accommodation issues, including setting standards for private student accommodation. Early this month, NSFAS appeared at the parliamentary committee for higher education, where they were criticised by members of Parliament who described the scheme as a disappointing institution after continual non-payment issues and unnecessary spending.
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Inside Rev360 — how Daily Maverick is using AI to boost community engagement, impact and revenue
AI offers the power to revolutionise journalism by boosting efficiency, driving growth and helping media outlets adapt to shifting consumer habits and the relentless rise of digital platforms. The average news consumer isn't exactly spoilt for choice. Between pop-up paywalls and unvetted information flooding social media, reader trust is steadily eroding (understandably so). While subscription models dominate the media landscape, Daily Maverick's voluntary subscription approach, where readers pay what they can if they can, keeps our journalism freely accessible to all. Yet, with reader interest declining rapidly globally, we're turning to AI to take reader revenue to the next level, backed by the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge. The rise of digital media has transformed how we consume news, endlessly searching, streaming and scrolling across platforms, hungry for real-time updates and deeper insights. But this easy access also fuels misinformation and disinformation, threatening independent journalism's very survival. In times like these, innovation isn't optional; it's essential. AI offers the power to revolutionise journalism by boosting efficiency, driving growth and helping media outlets adapt to shifting consumer habits and the relentless rise of digital platforms. Daily Maverick is proud to be one of 35 global newsrooms, selected out of 700 applicants, for the 2024 JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, a nine-month programme led by the London School of Economics' JournalismAI team and supported by the Google News Initiative. This opportunity has enabled us to develop Revenue360 (Rev360), an ambitious suite of AI-powered tools designed to deepen reader engagement, grow our Maverick Insider community and demonstrate the real-world impact of our journalism. Why Rev360? Why now? 'As a whole, the project is crucial for supporting our journalism. Funding for independent media is getting harder and harder to come by,' explained Alet Law, head of audience development at Daily Maverick. 'There's always a need to innovate and find creative solutions to this challenge.' Unlike many media outlets that rely heavily on paywalls or advertising, Daily Maverick's financial model centres on voluntary contributions from our Maverick Insider community, which accounts for 40% of our revenue. This approach keeps our journalism free for everyone, relying on reader support to sustain our work. Rev360, developed with support from the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, is designed to optimise this award-winning membership model through AI-driven improvements at every stage of the engagement funnel and is fundamentally rooted in three pillars of reader revenue: acquisition, engagement and retention. 'We call it '360' because none of these pillars can, or should, exist in isolation,' said Fran Beighton, head of growth at Daily Maverick. 'Acquisition in membership only happens as a result of the impact of our journalism. If there's no impact, there's no impetus to support.' Optimised landing page Our current Maverick Insider landing page has a lower-than-average conversion rate. 'We've wanted to redesign the Maverick Insider landing page for a number of years and Rev360 has allowed us to finally do this,' said Julia Harris, head of reader revenue. 'We're testing the new page against our existing landing page and are making use of new analytics such as heatmaps to guide our decision-making,' said Harris. The goal is to launch a streamlined, user-friendly page by the end of May where AI-driven A/B testing and user analytics will allow us to continuously refine and personalise the experience for different campaigns and audiences. Otimising the landing page is critical to 'make it quicker and easier for people who have the intention of supporting by becoming members to complete their sign-up', Beighton added. Small changes can make a huge difference to conversion rates, and we're excited to see what the data reveals, Harris said. Daily Maverick Connect: Building a community 'Retention doesn't happen without engagement. Readers need to feel that they belong, that they are part of something significant,' Beighton said. Until now, readers could connect with us but not with each other. Recognising the need to foster stronger community engagement, Daily Maverick is launching Daily Maverick Connect, an online platform built on Discourse. 'For years, we at Daily Maverick have had the privilege of the support of these members – and not just their financial support: we've hired from this group; we've leaned on their expertise; we've even had event spaces donated; they've chosen our book covers […] with 'Daily Maverick Connect' we want to open this network up so that members can connect with each other,' Beighton said. It's imperative to understand that the one thing our Maverick Insiders share in common is that they're paying for a free service to ensure that those who can't afford to pay still have access to quality journalism. 'That's special. This community platform breaks down a barrier that will allow our members to truly become part of Daily Maverick, it's their platform.' Progress in action '[Working on Daily Maverick Connect] has been a deep learning curve,' said Law. 'Creating something from scratch means thinking about every detail – from technical aspects and user experience to content and communication,' both internally and externally, she said. The platform will initially only be available to Maverick Insiders, offering a space for members to connect, network and collaborate around shared interests. AI-powered tools will assist with content moderation and conversation analysis, helping maintain a positive environment and providing insights to improve user experience. 'We haven't put anything into practice yet, but I think I'm excited to see what comes of it,' said Law. The team aims to have the platform live by early July, with editorial staff joining soon after. 'Our hope for [Daily Maverick Connect] is that [our supporters] will derive genuine value from it, whether that's new business opportunities or just finding a like-minded padel partner or a new book club. Impact Framework: Measuring what matters The Impact Framework is Daily Maverick's new strategy to make impact the guiding principle of our journalism. By combining proactive planning before publication with robust post-publication tracking, it helps inform newsroom decisions, optimise resource allocation and build reader trust. At the heart of this framework is the Impact Engine, an AI-powered tool that analyses our articles and tracks their influence on public discourse, including references in parliamentary records. Alongside this, we're adopting new workflows to plan for impact intentionally and systematically track outcomes – ensuring every story's potential influence is considered from start to finish. What's next? As we enter the next phase, our focus is on scaling Rev360, sharing our learnings and refining each component based on real-world feedback. 'The support of JournalismAI has turned what was once only pipe dreams into reality,' said Beighton. We believe Rev360 can become a model for independent publishers worldwide — proof that with the right tools and support, even small newsrooms can lead the way in innovation. DM
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Watch – Rebecca Davis reports from Ukraine: Can South Africa stay neutral?
Hearing firsthand stories from Ukrainians about Russian atrocities can't help but leave you ashamed of Pretoria's stance on this awful war. Daily Maverick's Rebecca Davis reports from Ukraine.
