Cape Town – Actress Kim Engelbrecht has reportedly been nominated for an international Emmy award for her role in the Reyka drama series.
The Cape Town-born actress’s performance on the locally produced drama series has captured the attention of both local and international audiences.
Kim was nominated for the Best Performance Actress category at the 2022 Emmy Awards.
The drama series, which streams on Showmax, follows criminal profiler Reyka Gama as she investigates a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer in the sugar cane fields of KwaZulu-Natal, reports IOL.
It alternates between Reyka’s past and present. In 1994, when apartheid was ending, an 11-year-old Reyka was abducted by Angus Speelman, who sexually assaulted her for four years, she managed to escape at age 16 with her abductor finally being caught and sentenced to prison, the report said.
Just last month Kim bagged the ‘Best Actress for Reyka at the 16th annual South African Film and Television Awards.
“Yay!!! @saftassa!!! Thank you to everyone who put their time, belief and effort into REYKA . I am so privileged to part of this. Firstly a special thanks to our phenomenal cast. Our Directing team @zee._.ntuli and @catcooke. Our series creator and writer @rohan.dickson. Our DOP @tommarais congratulations on your awards! Team Reyka !!!,” she wrote on her Instagram page.
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Kim opened up about her nominations and what it means during her interviewer on 5FM’s 5 Drive show.
She said that she was surprised by the nomination, as she was not aware the drama series had been put forward for an international Emmy.
“I was at home and I had no idea that Reyka had been put forward for nomination for an international Emmy. I had no idea the production company had gone that far. I obviously knew we were part of something special when were making the show, during Covid-19. The show came out in 2021 and we made the show during Covid-19 in 2020. So this is the cherry on top.”
The former Isidingo actress said that local productions have improved drastically over the years, producing work on the world stage and showcasing the country’s bests talent.
“The quality of our content is incredible and it’s obviously appealing to the international audience. The world is growing to fall in love with our cadence and melody and what we have to say,” said Kim.
Our incredible drama #Reyka has been nominated for TWO International Emmy Awards: ‘Best Drama Series’ and ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ for the fantastic @kimengelbrecht.
Winners will be announced on Nov. 21 ?#MadeByFremantle#iemmys @iemmys pic.twitter.com/2FFHGV7kf6
— Fremantle (@FremantleHQ) September 30, 2022
According to TshisaLIVE Kim is the fifth African actress to be nominated for an international Emmy.
The report said in 2017 and 2018 Thuso Mbedu was nominated for her role in Is’thunzi, then Lerato Mvelase and Brenda Ngxoli were nominated in 2010 and 2007 for their roles in Home Affairs while Egyptian actress, Menna Shalabi was nominated for her role in Every Week has a Friday in 2021.
“I saw a quote this morning: ‘You can get to where you want to from where you are.’ Thank you to the international Emmys for the incredible nomination. Thank you for the opportunity to share our show with the world. SA has so many stories to tell.” the publication quoted a statement by Kim.
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Picture: Twitter/ @kimengelbrecht
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
