Spling Movies has been around for over a decade, fronted by Stephen 'Spling' Aspeling, a movie critic and film writer who has kept calm and carried on. During this time, Spling has promoted films through reviews and articles, built content campaigns, curated movie events, delivered introductions and served as an event host. Having gradually moved some of his weekly reviews to the streaming service arena, the lockdown essentially forced him to go virtual by combining all of these factors into 'Bingeing with Spling', an online watch party hosted by and driven by Spling.

Here's the forthcoming #BingeingWithSpling movie night for Project Power starring Jamie Foxx on Netflix... with special guest actor, comedy magician and TV personality, Charles Tertiens!

The Big Idea

In South Africa, the Sunday night movie on M-NET has become an institution. Spling noticed that on some nights, the film would generate a keen amount of interest on social platforms with viewers sharing their thoughts on Twitter to the point that the film started trending. This is in essence what the 'Bingeing with Spling' watch party is all about... getting together to watch a movie at the same time and sharing the experience. The difference isn't a byproduct but a purpose. During lockdown when people were forced to stay at home, the events industry's shutdown meant that most people weren't getting their fix of community-driven fun.

Spling decided to bring it home through the 'Bingeing with Spling' watch party, which has already been described as "the best movie night in... ever". It's much more than just a live commentary with Spling dedicating a week to the watch party event's build-up. Having overseen and hosted Ster-Kinekor's Movie Buffs live events for almost 2 years, Spling tries to ramp up the experience to break the fourth wall. Getting related companies, products, prizes and people involved... the movie night goes from just another movie to an interactive, engaging and fun experience. He's taken that spirit into the making of 'Bingeing with Spling', which is gearing up for its third watch party event.

Sharing movie trivia on the night, creating warm up games before the movie, recording an introduction and getting special guests involved too, it's all about celebrating movies and the magic of escapism. Giving away prizes on the night, running Q&A sessions with film-related people and celebrities, Spling is trying to make these online movie nights a much anticipated monthly event that almost anyone can join.

How It Works

Once the movie title, date, time and viewing platform have been selected, it becomes about creating hype for the big night! When the day finally arrives, folks start out by having fun online an hour before the movie. Spling releases a welcome and introduction video to get the watch party started, sharing a few words about the movie and what to expect from the night.

Getting everyone going and into the swing of things with some fun social media games, people all get ready to hit play together from the comfort of their couch. The watch party can take place on a specific TV channel, a streaming service or via a link - so check out the details before the big night. Once the movie's rolling, Spling will post movie trivia and run a live commentary on the film itself by engaging with other movie goers. Awarding prizes to make the evening more exciting, sharing in the fun of movie night with a crowd of like-minded movie lovers... it's a real celebration.

There's no charge, so participants just need access to the platform and social media to get involved. Following and using the event hashtag, #BingeingWithSpling is how folks keep track of the conversation thread on Twitter. On Facebook, fans just need to like the official watch party group to stay up-to-date with the conversation and event posts on the night. Enjoying the movie, having a laugh, joining in the banter and doing movie night with some popcorn and with a community of SPL!NG fans... it just makes sense!

Photo credits: Spling - Grant Hinds, Charles Tertiens - Eric Uys