A proposed French/South African accord could revitalise the SA film industry, reports TREVOR STEELE TAYLOR
FIRST steps have been taken towards a collaboration which could be of resounding importance to South African film. At a symposium in Johannesburg last weekend, organised by the French Institute, plans were mooted for a film treaty between France and South Africa which would provide South Africans with access to European funding and distribution avenues.
The prime mover behind the initiative for official French/South African co-productions is France’s Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC), represented at the symposium by director of international affairs Didier Decaudaveine. Decaudaveine outlined the proposal, which was then submitted to the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology for consideration.
Should an official stamp of approval be given to the accord, South African film-makers will have access to European funding and other resources as French/South African co-productions will qualify as European.
Speaking at the symposium, Antoine de Clermont- Tonnerre, producer of Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso, said that for indigenous cinema to survive the Hollywood invasion, limitations have to be placed on American product. France has been a frontrunner in implementing this policy, endorsing a quota system which promotes European films on French screens.
Europe is particularly conscious of the need for an infrastructure for film development, De Clermont- Tonnerre said. Funds such as the Herbert Bals Fund at the Rotterdam Film Festival and the European Script Development Fund are critical in terms of providing seed finance for projects.
Decaudaveine said the French system of film financing has been in position since 1947, and despite changes in government has always received official support. French respect for film as an art form has been largely responsible for the success of the French film industry, which after Hollywood, India and Egypt is one of the largest in the world.
Jacques Bidou, an independent producer and specialist in African co-productions, was also present at the symposium. Bidou, who is currently working on the first South African/ French co- production, Fools, to be directed by Ramadan Suleiman, cautioned that, valuable as the accord will be, the real creative energy for a vibrant South African film industry will need to come from within.