Class of ’96: Rise of a Nation – African Music Meets South African Storytelling
Biblo.tv is proud to have been closely involved in the music landscape of Class of ’96: Rise of a Nation, the acclaimed South African sports documentary series that premiered on e.tv and eVOD and is currently streaming on Netflix.
Class of ’96 revisits one of the most pivotal chapters in South African football history: Bafana Bafana’s 1996 Africa Cup of Nations victory and their subsequent qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It is not just a documentary about sport — it is a cinematic reflection on national pride, identity, and transformation.
At the heart of this story is a deeply personal connection. The series was directed by John Barker, who brings both professional craft and familial insight to the project. Barker is the son of legendary coach Clive Barker, the man who led South Africa to its first major African football title in 1996. This story illustrates that there is strength in diversity, and that South Africa can be the greatest sporting nation in the world — if you keep politics out of it. This was Coach Clive Barker’s belief. The story takes on a deeper dimension when you consider that it was written and directed by his son: a monument to his father’s legacy, a decade in the making.
John Barker has a well-established career in South African cinema, with work that has travelled to major international festivals. His earlier films include Bunny Chow, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and The Umbrella Men, which reached global audiences and was widely recognised for its distinctive voice. His approach to Class of ’96 blends rigorous documentary storytelling with a strong cinematic sensibility, giving the series both emotional depth and narrative clarity.
Alongside Barker, Robin Adams is credited as co-director on the series, helping to shape the narrative structure and visual logic of this expansive historical project.
The series was produced by Known Associates Entertainment, guided by founders Joel Chikapa-Phiri and Tshepiso Chikapa-Phiri, whose strategic vision steered the project from development through to release. Their leadership ensured that Class of ’96 operated at the intersection of local cultural significance and global storytelling standards.
Moroba Nkawe, CEO of Known Associates Entertainment, served as producer on the series, bringing strong creative oversight and production discipline to the project. Athos Kyriakides acted as Series Producer, drawing on more than two decades of experience in film and television. His work spans South African and international markets, including award-winning writing on the sci-fi series Room 9, as well as feature film projects such as Mandela’s Gun, which received festival recognition. Together, Nkawe and Kyriakides helped ensure that the series balanced historical detail, emotional resonance, and cinematic scale.
From a music supervision perspective, Biblo.tv’s genre-spanning library was instrumental. Our catalogue spans cinematic and ambient textures alongside contemporary African genres — from amapiano, gqom, and hip-hop to electronic, jazz, and experimental music — giving the creative team instant access to underground African gems that felt both modern and culturally rooted. We facilitated nearly 40 unique sync licenses from gifted artists across the continent, ensuring that every musical moment served both story and authenticity.
Class of ’96: Rise of a Nation is more than a sports documentary — it is a cultural testament, a legacy project, and a celebration of sound, story, and national identity. If you watch it, please give it a big thumbs up — it helps in the algorithm while we’re all dancing to the algo-rythm 🕺
Biblo.tv remains committed to connecting African artists with film, television, and advertising, ensuring that local sound travels globally without losing its edge, identity, or authenticity.
