Born and raised on the Cape Flats, filmmaker Amy Jephta’s latest Showmax Original series ‘Catch Me A Killer’ hits close to home, literally and figuratively.
Lead writer of the series, Amy, 36, now resides in Bo-Kaap but is originally from Mitchells Plain and talks about the thrilling series which makes its debut today on Showmax.
Thereafter the 10-episode series will air every Wednesday.
Catch Me a Killer is based on the book of the same name, which tells the harrowing true story of former journalist-turned-psychological profiler Micki Pistorius, South Africa’s first serial killer profiler.
Each episode looks at another of her cases, from the Station Strangler to the Cleveland Killer to Stewart “Boetie Boer” Wilken.
Charlotte Hope (Game of Thrones and The Spanish Princess) stars as Pistorius.
The first episode, filmed in Mitchells Plain, brought Amy back to her hometown and awakened memories of her childhood.
Amy explains: “It’s always a full circle moment to come back to the place that shaped your voice as a writer.
“I always try to write with my community in mind, and I hope I gave an honest and authentic portrayal in this story.
“The story deals with the Station Strangler Killer, from 1992 to 1994.
“I was in Grade 1. I remember what it felt like to be a kid at a time where there were these boys being abducted and the fear in our community.
“My mother was a police officer at the same police station that Micki was stationed at in 1994. I was in and out of that police station. Many of the cops, who appear as characters in Micki’s book, knew me as a child.
“I was seven years old, but I remember the mythology of that serial killer being present in my childhood.
“I know what it was like to be on a school field playing outside when someone would yell ‘Station Strangler!’ and all the kids would just run into the school.
“A lot of those images in the show are actually drawn from my memory.”
The SAFTA winner adds: “What’s great about this is that every episode transports you to a different world. I really love Episodes 8 and 9, the Cane Field Killer – Oliver Frampton’s double-header of an episode.”
venecia.valentine@inl.co.za