Port Alfred debuts on Netflix series

Creative director of Miseducation, Rethabile Ramaphakela, said she was blown away by Port Alfred. The town gets a good cameo on the Netflix series that went on air on Friday September 15.

The series is about a young, self-absorbed, first-year varsity student. After a fall from grace at her former elite private school, she embarks on a mission to climb the social ranks at a small-town university in the hopes of being the stand-out, popular girl she used to be. This series was shot in Makhanda and  featured parts of Port Alfred. Several days of shooting were done on the Kowie River, with the Skiboat Club as the base.

“One of our characters, Sivu Levin, is a rower and we found out that some rowing competitions happen in Port Alfred,” Ramaphakela said. ‘This gave us the perfect opportunity to see a different side of the Eastern Cape that completely contrasts with Makhanda.” 

Ramaphakela said it was her first time in Port Alfred and she had been completely blown away by the town. 

Meanwhile, locals snapped up the opportunity when the call for extras came. Among them was a contingent from Sha-Loui Dance School.

“I haven’t watched the film yet to be honest, but seeing myself on TV in the past hasn’t made me feel any different to what I felt prior to any TV time,” said Kyle Badenhorst – one of the extras and Sha-Loui owner and instructor. “That being said, it is awesome that as locals we could get the opportunity to be an extra in a movie being shot here.”

Up the road, Makhanda and “Grahamstown University” enjoyed the spotlight, with Makana Tourism helping facilitate the shooting there.

“It is our honour to be chosen to have such an exciting production of that magnitude shot in our town,” said Prudence Mini, acting director at Makana Tourism. “We hope that this will give us much needed exposure and encourage more producers nationally and internationally to use Makhanda and its surroundings as a location,” Mini said.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA: University of Fort Hare also got in on the camera action, working as extras as well.

SCHOOL BUS: “Grahamstown University” is the fictional institution in the series, where the main character reinvents herself.

LOCAL STARS: Some locals who participated in the production of Miseducation as extras, from left to right it’s Taylor Bowdler, Carissa Le Roux, Wermaré Verwey and Jenna Coetzee.

Pictures were taken by Sue Maclennan at the time of shooting.

• This article first appeared in TALK OF THE TOWN – the community newspaper for Ndlambe and Makhanda, in supermarkets and other outlets every Thursday.