Posts in Category: Disney Plus
THE INFINITE EXPLORER WITH HANNAH FRY
Premiering Wednesday 12 November at 20:30 on National Geographic, Hannah Fry uncovers the patterns and connections that shape our world
Johannesburg, 3 November 2025: Professor Hannah Fry sets off on an epic global adventure, not just to see the world but to decode it, in the brand-new six-part series THE INFINITE EXPLORER WITH HANNAH FRY, premiering on National Geographic (DStv 181, StarTimes 220) across Africaon Wednesdays at 20:30 (CAT), from 12 November 2025. The series will also be available on Disney+ in South Africa.
Blending travel, science and storytelling to uncover the hidden threads that shape our world, the series takes viewers to six extraordinary destinations, South Korea, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Vietnam and Spain, following Hannah’s quest to reveal the forces that define culture and the connections that make a nation what it is.
Watch the trailer here:
This series is much more than a travelogue – it’s a journey into the character of nations and the influences that shape them. With curiosity, wit and insight, she peels back the layers of each location. Through stunning landscapes, vibrant cities and hidden treasures, Hannah seeks out extraordinary voices and surprising quirks of history and geography that reveal what makes each place truly unique.
Always searching for patterns and hidden connections, she shows how Spain’s destiny was shaped by mountains, analyses traffic etiquette in Ho Chi Minh City, reveals secrets embedded in the Parthenon’s geometry and explores how Irish syntax builds a worldview.
Discussing the new series, Hannah Fry says: “I’ve always been fascinated by the patterns that lie beneath everyday life. This series gave me the chance to explore them on a global scale, from the way landscapes shape history to the traditions and quirks that define culture. It’s been a joy to meet people around the world who bring these stories to life, and I think audiences will be amazed at how much the hidden details reveal about us all.”
Each episode bursts with character and discovery. Hannah’s South Korean journey spans the billion-dollar world of esports, the traditions of Taekwondo, the artistry of a kimchi grandmaster and the bravery of Jeju’s legendary female divers, revealing a nation that fuses heritage with high-tech innovation.
Turning to Greece, Hannah sails ancient trade routes, marvels at the optical illusions hidden in the Parthenon, joins olive farmers in Crete and is swept up in Galaxidi’s exuberant flour-throwing festival. Across Ireland, she discovers a surprising surf scene, explores the horse racing culture of Punchestown, traces her own Irish DNA and embraces the art of storytelling.
While in Iceland, Hannah meets scientists who diverted lava to save the Blue Lagoon, entrepreneurs harnessing geothermal energy and modern-day Vikings keeping sagas alive on black-sand plains. Her travels through Vietnam take her from the moped mayhem of Ho Chi Minh City to the misty hilltops of Sapa, celebrating Tet with a local family and uncovering the story of pho as a symbol of national identity. Finally, in Spain, Hannah dives into the fiery rhythms of flamenco, traces the origins of paella, explores Barcelona’s strict urban geometry and witnesses the extraordinary human towers of Tarragona.
The series is produced by Atomic Television, part of Zinc Media, for National Geographic and Bloomberg Originals.
Episodes include:
“South Korea”
Hannah Fry visits South Korea to uncover how a nation once defined by war and division became a global force in culture, business and technology. She explores the billion-dollar world of esports, learns Taekwondo from a blackbelt, meets a kimchi grandmaster and Jeju’s legendary female divers. Along the way, she discovers how South Korea blends tradition with innovation, from family-run business empires to cutting-edge everyday tech. With curiosity and humour, Hannah reveals how the country’s unique mix of ancient values and future-focused thinking turned it into a cultural superpower that continues to shape our lives.
“Greece”
Hannah Fry journeys across islands, mountains and olive groves to reveal why ancient Greece was the birthplace of so many big ideas. From sailing old trade routes through the Aegean to marvelling at the optical illusions hidden in the Parthenon, she explores how ideas were shaped by the dramatic landscape and how a mastery of maths, architecture and navigation fuelled a golden age of progress and innovation. Exploring the threads between ancient and modern Greece, she joins a family of olive farmers in Crete preserving centuries-old traditions and visits the mountaintop monasteries in Meteora, where nuns safeguard classical texts. In the coastal town of Galaxidi, she’s swept up in a riotous flour-throwing festival that blends ancient myth with modern identity.
“Ireland”
Ireland doesn’t take up much room on the map, but few places have such a celebrated identity; more than 70 million people around the world claim Irish heritage. Hannah digs beneath the surface to discover what it really means to be Irish today. Along the windswept coast of Donegal Bay, she dives into Ireland’s surprising surfing scene, where dramatic geology is forging a new bond with the sea. She places a bet at the Punchestown races, exploring how a connection to the land became a multibillion-euro industry. In a moment of personal discovery, Hannah uncovers her own Irish DNA and how her family history holds clues to Irish identity. As her journey ends, Hannah steps into the spotlight to try her hand at one of Ireland’s most cherished traditions: storytelling.
“Iceland”
Hannah Fry visits Iceland to discover how this stark, treeless island became a global success story. On the geologically active Reykjanes Peninsula, she meets scientists whose lava-flow predictions saved the world-famous Blue Lagoon spa from destruction. In Hengill, she sees how a futuristic algae farm is fuelled by geothermal power and imagination. A dip in the country’s oldest swimming pool reveals how Iceland’s unusually small gene pool is helping advance global health, while a horseback ride across a black sand landscape immortalised in the Icelandic sagas shows how Viking heritage continues to inspire creativity. The Icelanders Hannah encounters don’t just live on the land; they negotiate with it. Their collective determination and adaptability have forged an island of ideas – and a tourist magnet the world cannot resist.
“Vietnam”
Hannah Fry travels to Vietnam, a land of staggering natural beauty, ancient traditions and some of the fastest growing skylines on earth. Over 1,600 km from the vibrant South to the historic North, Vietnam reveals a remarkable story of post-war transformation. Hannah immerses herself in the moped chaos in Ho Chi Minh City, helps with a muddy prawn harvest in the Mekong Delta and takes a restorative spa bath in the misty hilltops of Sapa. She ushers in the Lunar New Year with a local family celebrating the Tet festival and learns how the beloved dish pho, tells a story of national identity. In each place she visits, Hannah meets characters whose lives have been shaped by both war and renewal. What emerges is a nation embracing change, where striking contrasts are balanced by a spirit of cooperation and strong family bonds.
“Spain”
Hannah Fry decodes Spain’s cultural contradictions. Starting in Madrid, she tries to learn flamenco and discovers how the artform combines both technical discipline and freedom of improvisation. In Valencia, she uncovers the origins of paella, the fiercely regional dish that owes its existence to an irrigation system built over 700 years ago. In the Canary Islands, where Christoper Colombus first set sail for the Americas, she discovers an ancient whistling language which endured as Spanish conquered the world. Back on the mainland, she indulges her love of urban planning in Barcelona, revealing how much of the city’s easy charm is built on strict geometric discipline. And in a heart-stopping finale in Tarragona, she witnesses the strong community bonds at the core of gravity defying human pyramids.
KIZAZIMOTO:GENERATION FIRE STREAMING 5JULY EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+
Key Art for 10-Part Sci-Fi Series from Leading African Directors Available Now
Animated Anthology of Short Films Set to Enthrall Viewers this Winter
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa. (May 25, 2023) – As the world recognizes Africa Day today, Disney+ announced that “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday 5 July. In celebration, the key art for the 10-part collection of original animated short films was also released. The artwork is an original illustration by Nigerian artist and director Shofela Coker, the creator of the short film “Moremi”.
Featuring stories from creators hailing from Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” promises to take viewers on an unforgettable ride into Africa’s future, presenting visions of the continent as never before seen.
The action-packed animated anthology draws on the continent’s rich and diverse histories and cultures to present 10 sci-fi and fantasy stories featuring bold and brave new worlds of advanced technology, aliens, spirits, and monsters.
The 10 films are: “Stardust“ (Ahmed Teilab, Egypt), “Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer“ (Simangaliso “Panda” Sibaya and Malcolm Wopé, South Africa), “Hatima“(Terence Maluleke and Isaac Mogajane, South Africa), “Enkai“ (Ng’endo Mukii, Kenya), “Moremi“ (Shofela Coker, Nigeria), “Surf Sangoma“ (Nthato Mokgata and Catherine Green, South Africa), “Mukudzei“ (Pious Nyenyewa and Tafadzwa Hove, Zimbabwe), “First Totem Problems“ (Tshepo Moche, South Africa), “Herderboy“ (Raymond Malinga, Uganda) and “You Give Me Heart“ (Lesego Vorster, South Africa).
“Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” is executive produced by Peter Ramsey (co-director of the Oscar®-winning “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”), alongside Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverston from Triggerfish, the lead studio on this anthology.
“Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire” will debut globally on 5 July 2023, exclusively on Disney+.
From Cape Town to a galaxy far, far away: South Africans make Star Wars short film
For Immediate Use
Capetonians Nadia Darries and Daniel Clarke co-directedAau’s Song, the final short film in the second volume of the Star Wars: Visions anthology, now streaming on Disney+.
“A Cape Flats girl and a Bergvliet boy got to make a Star Wars film,” laughs Nadia.
The Lucasfilm anthology celebrates Star Wars through the lens of some of the world’s top animation studios, including Aardman Animation, Cartoon Saloon, Studio LaCachette, Studio Mir and African animation pioneers Triggerfish, who produced Aau’s Song.
Building on the Emmy-nominated first run of Star Wars: Visions in 2021, the second volume currently has a rare 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Animated with all the vibrancy of a crackling lightsaber, Star Wars: Visions’ second volume is the work of Jedi masters.”
Aau’s Song follows a girl who has a calling to sing but is raised by her loving, stern father to stay quiet because of the calamitous effect her voice has on the crystals in the nearby mines – the kyber that powers lightsabers.
To represent Africa on Star Wars: Visions for the first time, Lucasfilm approached Triggerfish, a 27-year-old studio that was born in Cape Town and also has Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes coming to Disney Junior and the anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire to Disney+ later this year. Triggerfish then turned to Nadia and Daniel, who teamed up with another Capetonian, Julia Smuts Louw of The Smeds and the Smoos fame, to co-write Aau’s Song.
Ranked as “the best episode” of this volume by Screenrant, Aau’s Song has been a hit with critics, hailed as “gorgeous” by everyone from Empire, who called it a “highlight”, to Polygon, who called it “a perfect note to end the season on”.
But Aau’s Song was something of a blind date for the two first-time directors, who had worked together at Triggerfish on the Kidscreen- and Annecy- winner Stick Man, but in different departments.
“We both grew up within five kilometres of Triggerfish but we actually didn’t really know each other before this,” says Nadia, who comes from a performance animation background. “We hadn’t spoken and we were a little intimidated by each other. We came from different cultural backgrounds but funnily enough when we spoke we wanted to tell the same story.“
“We feel very grateful and lucky that our vision aligned so neatly, so quickly,” says Daniel, who’d been a character and production designer in the animation industry, as well as a co-creator on the Kariba graphic novel. “We really discovered the characters through discovering each other. There’s something very Star Wars-y about people from different backgrounds coming together with a shared vision and purpose, and forging lifelong relationships by going on an adventure together.“
While Aau’s Song is universal, it’s also very personal to both Nadia and Daniel. “The relationships between the characters are all based on our personal experiences: Daniel and his grandfather; me and my father, and my relationship with singing,” says Nadia. “Even the Jedi in the film is inspired by my cousin, who is a sangoma.”
Nadia grew up in a conservative Muslim community, where men led the singing as part of their faith. She would sneak out and sing in rock bands. “The voice is just so powerful,” she says. “When I sing, it is my biggest self-healing practice and it reveals so much to me. Something a lot of our cultures in South Africa share is the use of singing and chanting to connect with each other, the land, and spirit. So using the voice as a way to engage with the Force was a natural choice for us as South Africans.”
Dan agrees, adding, “The idea of a poisoned or hurt land that young people could heal with their voices felt very significant to us as South Africans.”
For both Nadia and Dan, it was important that Aau’s father wasn’t a villain. “My relationship with my daddy was warm, but ultimately, I was always living in my father’s world,” says Nadia. “As a parent, you’re supposed to set the rules, and create a safe box for your child to live in. But sometimes your child is just a different shape to your shape.”
She found the ending of Aau’s Song healing. “I didn’t get that ending,” she says. “So it’s cathartic for me. I get to watch it and have that moment that I didn’t have.”
The characters’ distinctive felt textures are inspired by Ndebele dolls, one of a number of South African-inspired touches. “We wanted to evoke the feeling of playing with a toy,” says Daniel. “Felt is a very nostalgic childhood texture for us; it makes you want to reach in and touch it. We also used human voices in the sound design, in the same way that when you’re a kid and playing with toys, you make the sounds with your mouth.“
Aau is voiced by child actor Mpilo Jantjie, with Dineo du Toit handling her singing duties. Also listen out for two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo as Kratu opposite SAFTA winner Tumisho Masha and Blood Psalms and Flatland star Faith Baloyi. The acclaimed score is by South African electronic music legend Markus Wormstorm, featuring the Cape Town Youth Choir, and Nadia’s own voice too.
“Taking our personal experiences into the Star Wars universe was priceless, and a lot of fun,” says Nadia. “And we both came out of it with a friend for life.”
Watch and embed the Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 trailer:
Add Star Wars: Visions to your Disney+ watchlist:
https://www.apps.disneyplus.
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