A young boy prepares to watch a movie on Netflix using an android smartphone in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2021. Donwilson Odhiambo/Getty Images

In 2019, South African filmmaker Rethabile Ramaphakela was on the cusp of her big break.

After more than a decade in the film sector, the comedy screenwriter, producer and director had scored funding for her first feature-length film, ‘Seriously Single.’

“We were set to release in 2020; we were so excited,” says Ramaphakela. “It was going to be our big cinema release — and then Covid came around, and we were kind of stuck.”

But like any good comedy, timing is everything. And a bigger opportunity was just around the corner.

Thando Thabethe as Beauty Sello and Denise Zimba as Zama in 'How To Ruin Christmas', a three-part comedy series creat

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