The talented Holly Rey has just had her first project as an executive TV Producer released in the USA. Produced during lockdown, her project ‘Baking with the Reys’ has just been released for streaming and download on Amazon’s US service. Amazon Prime released the 10 Part series in the American Territory ahead of its release in South Africa and we’re excited to announce yet another winner from the dynamic, multi-talented South African artist: It’s already racking up streaming numbers on the platform.
Filmed in Holly Rey’s Durban home, ‘Baking with the Reys’ is based on the artist’s love of cooking, especially baking with her little sister Mimi Rey.
“Baking is a real bonding moment for me and my sister. I grew up baking with my granny, and when Mimi was old enough to hold a spatula, it just became our ‘thing’ to do together,” says Holly. “It used to be like a Sunday morning ritual for us to get granny’s cookbook out and bake something, but in lockdown we started baking all the time.”
And these sisters sure can bake! They laugh and joke and play through a range of family favourites and healthy recipes for kids. Living with diabetes, Holly Rey is always conscious of what she eats and cooking together at home was also a way to encourage healthy eating habits in Mimi.
“Baking With The Rey’s” started as a hashtag on Holly’s Instagram account where she would post a video of her and Mimi baking and share the recipe. The response was incredible and her followers kept asking for more. Seeing a need for wholesome kid-friendly content, she decided to put her Media and Communications Degree to good use and applied for the presidential employment stimulus initiative, through the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). This provided some funding to kickstart production.
Some product placement sponsorship from Defy and Woolworths was secured, and the balance of production costs were funded out of Holly’s own pocket. Holly and Mimi were then able to shoot and edit a full production of the series. Mandala Films was brought onboard to assist with the production and the Rey Sisters were able to provide 20 temporary jobs for fellow creatives in the Film Industry.
‘Baking with the Reys’ was released on the 26th of August on Amazon Prime for their US territories. It’s already seen promising sales and the Holly Rey team is now planning for the recording of a second season of the show which has the potential to grow into a proudly South African Series. South African fans will be able to watch Season One soon, when it is released for viewing in the licensing territories that include the African continent.
