Get the latest gossip
South African Filmmakers Sound Alarm Over Rebate Crisis: ‘Everybody Is Struggling’
Industry bodies are calling on the South African government to take immediate action to save its struggling cash rebate system.
The memorandum highlighted the contributions made to the South African economy by the film and TV sector, which before the COVID-19 pandemic employed roughly 60,000 full- and part-time workers while generating 8-10 billion rand ($440 million-$550 million) annually. Nicola Unsworth, head of production at crosstown rival Film Afrika, said the South African industry “definitely felt the impact” from the corporate mergers and cost-cutting moves that have tightened commissioning budgets in Hollywood, noting that a lot of projects that had been in development “fell off the slate.” In the wake of the protests in Pretoria, Known Associates’ Tshepiso Phiri said DTIC deputy minister Zuko Godlimpi proposed a working committee to facilitate dialogue with the department, as well as bi-weekly meetings between industry and government reps, something she described as a “big step.”
Or read this on Variety
