Freda (2021) weaves a powerful story of withstanding struggle through feminine strength in a Haiti where everything falls apart.

The extended theme running through Nope is predation. Peele presents the concept of a predator as a seemingly unstoppable force untamable by nature, creating clear rules for how predators operate. Don’t challenge them by looking them in the eye. Don’t hold them in captivity. Make deals with them to survive.

Despite being one of South Africa’s largest cities, Bloemfontein is not known. The people who control industries in the city want it that way. They keep it silent. A cemetery with streetlights. But art is the evidence of life. It pulses and noises.

Set in Atteridgeville, what audiences might appreciate from Lediga’s film is its inclusion of social issues, like gang violence and the drug trade. The film could, however, benefit from more nuanced portrayals.

The dangers of this kind of futurism is the placation of real histories in favour of pleasant depictions of Blackness. This risk is amplified by collective ignorance of the histories that futurist reinterpretations are based on.