Last year, Minister Pallo Jordan declared 2004 “the year during which South African film came of age”. But as we bask in the glow of an Academy Award, the Golden Bear, the Stallion of Yennanga, Venice and Toronto Film Festival awards and Golden Globe, we should pause to consider whether we are witnessing the sun rising or setting on the local industry. Has the South African film industry “arrived”, or are the acceptance speeches simply diverting us from the quest for a less glorious, but more meaningful cinema?
The truth is, there is no common vision for the local film industry. Various government departments and agencies that have a role to play in the industry’s development accord importance to different aspects of the industry: economic value, sheer volume of productions churned out, number of jobs created and, of course, cultural value. Since there is no single body that represents the common interests of the industry, it is difficult to gauge what filmmakers are aiming for.
The National Film and Video Foundation has created a value charter that sets out as a moral imperative the need “for ordinary South Africans to bear influence in the expression of their own images, thereby deepen democracy and create prosperity”. This is clearly a long-term goal and one that might prove tricky to measure. So what is the yardstick of success?
For the Department of Trade and Industry, which introduced a rebate for large-budget film and television productions last year, it seems to be primarily a set of economic goals: the reduction of unemployment, contribution to economic growth and the attraction of foreign investment. The Department of Arts and Culture places greater emphasis on the cultural value of films, while the industry itself has not been able to express any consensus on its desired direction or destination. Testament to this is the failure of repeated attempts to form a federation of industry organisations that can effectively articulate positions of common interest.
The trick seems to lie in finding a balance between cultural and economic goals. A film lacking in cultural value is less likely to resonate with audiences and, therefore, less likely to bring in the revenues that would make it a commercial hit.
In terms of culture, we have made significant progress towards the ideal of a South African “film language”. One can debate the level of authenticity and cultural integrity that has been achieved, but recent films and television series clearly reflect many aspects of our society.
Bongiwe Selane, commissioning editor at M-Net, believes that, in spite of these strides, we still have a way to go. While local drama series are drawing high ratings and a wider audience profile, Selane says there are still taboo areas in the broadcasting environment. “We are scared to make films like Crash.” She feels that not enough resources are dedicated to developing young black writers. “Black youth are in a different sphere and they have so much to tell. Their experiences of racism are different to ours. In our day, it was the law. Nowadays, it is something else.”
There are also economic consequences for the way in which programmes are created and the value that can be derived from them.
According to Kethiwe Ngcobo, head of drama at the SABC’s content hub, demand for local programming is already outstripping the industry’s capacity, necessitating aggressive growth plans. The SABC could facilitate this by commissioning made-for-TV feature films. It is investigating the feasibility of television features as a way of increasing the array of local fare available to viewers, and — as an additional benefit — an avenue for developing creative talent.
In July, the National Film and Video Foundation’s announcement that it was temporarily unable to issue grants sparked fears of the wells running dry at the public institutions that have given the film industry its kickstart. The recent spat, which saw the foundation approach Parliament’s arts and culture portfolio committee to intervene in its troubled relationship with the arts department, seems to have found some resolution. Sandile Memela, spokesperson for the ministry, maintains that “there is no problem between ourselves [and the foundation]. Our top officials have engaged in talks and we have been happy to see a mature attitude on the part of foundation leadership.”
Foundation CEO Eddie Mbalo confirmed that the talks held late last year were constructive and that the foundations’s plans for the coming year include strengthening relationships with other government departments that could help to realise its strategy.
In 2004, a Cabinet memo detailing a “joint content industries strategy” was produced with the involvement of the departments of communications, arts and culture and trade and industry, and the foundation. Memela said the arts department was working on leveraging additional funds from international sources through existing bilateral agreements. But all this rosy talk of collaboration belies an underlying dynamic of departments and agencies competing for recognition for being responsible for successes in this sector. It also remains to be seen how much inter-governmental cooperation can be achieved operationally.
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is another government institution that has become an important player in the film arena, having committed about R500million to projects since 2001. Initially criticised for its insistence on big budgets and business plans, the IDC’s media and motion picture unit has enforced higher standards of rigour and financial discipline within the industry. Moses Silinda, who heads the unit, said increased awareness of IDC requirements has led to an improvement in the quality of the applications it receives. Silinda is emphatic that the unit applies strict commercial evaluation criteria to individual projects and only invests in those that have good prospects for profitability.
In reality, the IDC has a higher appetite for risk than other financial institutions and has a greater interest in non-financial criteria such as employment creation, empowerment and the stimulation of demand for goods and services linked to film, such as catering, vehicle hire, set construction and tourism.
While there was plenty of media hype around the release of local films such as Stander, Max and Mona, Yesterday and Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni, there has been little talk of their performance at the box office and how this relates to their production budgets. Perhaps this type of analysis would throw a wet blanket on the enthusiasm around the “coming of age” of the local film industry. Alternatively, it could be useful in assessing how far the industry has come and what it needs to work to survive.
A crucial missing link seems to be yet another pesky remnant of our apartheid legacy. There is no longer an exhibition circuit in townships, making it relatively expensive, inconvenient and time-consuming for the average South African to watch a film.
Selane commented: “It’s exciting that we’re getting all this international recognition, but the man in the street in South Africa still hasn’t seen our films.”
Mbalo expressed a similar view: “We have been successful at positioning South African film on international platforms, but we need to bring it back home and refocus our attention on what’s happening here.”
Declining audiences and the death of independently owned cinemas are not unique to South Africa. Some factors are simply dictated by the market, such as the erosion of the cinema experience by the popularity of DVD and Internet technology. Other factors relate to competition, or lack thereof, in film distribution and exhibition. A study commissioned by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development several years ago showed that the concentration of ownership in distribution and exhibition adversely affected independent producers, led to restricted viewer choices and was conducive to price collusion.
When the lights are low and you’re surrounded by the comforting aroma of popcorn, it’s easy to be romantic about the movies. But in the cold hard light of day, local independent filmmaking remains a passion rather than a profession. There is an important rider to the success of recent films, which have reportedly garnered 30 awards locally and internationally: no matter how prestigious they may be, awards do not repay loans.
The role of public funding in film finance remains crucial and, fortunately for filmmakers, institutions are committing more resources than ever before. The foundation and the IDC, which have thus far played the biggest part in this, have only been in operation for four years and are optimistic about industry growth. Mbalo hopes that, alongside commercial considerations, the industry creates “films that are good for the soul of the nation.” Silinda is mindful that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.
The industry has shown itself to be capable of creating films of exceptional quality. The next big challenge will be that of profitability.
Production budgets vs returns
God is African (2003):
Budget:R60 000
Box Office:R116 000
Forgiveness (2004):
Budget:R8m
Box Office:R334 000
Max and Mona (2005):
Budget:R8m
Box Office:R404 000
Drum (2005):
Budget:R40m
Box Office:R915 000
Straight Outta Benoni (2005) :
Budget:R8,5m
Box Office:R2,9m
Source: Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro. Figures rounded off to the nearest thousand. Does not reflect international sales or home video or DVD revenue.