Melania Trump doccie won’t hit SA cinemas after sudden pull-out

South Africans who had been looking forward to hitting movie theatres for the release of the Melanie Trump documentary are going to be disappointed.

The local distributor has announced that it is pulling the plug on screenings of the 104-minute doccie featuring the America's First Lady.

Distributors Filmfinity said that, based on 'recent developments', they decided against the theatrical release of Melania.

Thinus Ferreira, an independent TV critic, said that fans contacted him to complain after noticing their online comments had disappeared.

"Where the story started is people saw their comments got deleted and they were censored, and they contacted me, saying Ster Kinekor doesn't like their criticism online, on social media."

Ferreira said that he then approached Ster Kinekor, Nu Metro Cinemas and Filmfinity to find out why the documentary was being pulled.

"Ster Kinekor told me that they show films and ultimately audiences decide for themselves what they want to watch."

Ferreira said that announcement was then made that the film would no longer be shown in cinemas here.

"They gave me the answer that, given the current climate, they will no longer be releasing Melania," he said.

Ferriera believes it relates to global sentiment about America and, more specifically, the subject of the documentary's spouse, US President Donald Trump.

"I think they fear the backlash after Trump is so aggressive about Greenland and all of these things, where the rest of the global community is becoming increasingly put off by the US."

The Brett Ratner-directed film, which is funded by Jeff Bezos’s Amazon MGM Studios, had its premiere in the United States (US) last night, but Ferreira says local media were barred from attending.

"Amazon banned the press from entering and seeing the film. The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Vanity Fair were not allowed to go in."

But it's not all bad news for those who wanted to watch the film in South Africa.

It will also be available to stream on Amazon Prime, said Ferreira.

Amazon has reportedly paid $35 million (over R500 million) to market the film, which the First Lady has described as providing "a window into an important period for America... For the first time in history, people will witness the 20 days leading up to the inauguration through the eyes of an incoming First Lady."

For more details, listen to Ferreira using the audio player below: