‘You’re a gift to this industry’ — Bonko Khoza gushes over Akin Omotoso

Award-winning actor Bonko Khoza has congratulated director Akin Omotoso on his Netflix series The Brave Ones, and lauded him for telling a story that crossed borders.

Taking to his Instagram recently he shared snaps of the cast celebrating their moment at the premier last week.

“What a time to be alive. Akin Omotoso, congratulations brother. You’ve created such a unique voice with your work that speaks to the entire world but sounds just like home. You’re a gift to this industry. Keep rising king. Thank you NetflixSA for bringing this story to life and sharing it with the world in the highest quality. To the cast and crew, you are all incredibly gifted, talented and professional. What an honour is was to work beside you grinding to create this world,” he wrote.

The supernatural series premiered on September 16. It  journeys through three parallel worlds — the living, the unborn and the dead — governed by the Tree of Life in six captivating episodes.

The all-star cast starring in the African mythology series includes Sthandile Nkosi, Keke Mphuthi, Nomalanga Nkosi, Bonko Khoza and Tony Kgoroge.

Akin spoke to Spotlight about how this move came as a 360 moment for him, having first learnt about the parallel world as a 12-year-old boy.

“I grew up listening to stories of African folklore and ancestral mythology and I became obsessed. When the opportunity came, I wanted to create a show that harked back to my childhood and harked to that sort of spiritual, African god space, but also grounded in Johannesburg in this modern time.”