SA film industry protests funding crisis as 100,000 jobs lost

The South African film and television industry said that continued funding losses have crippled their livelihoods and ability to bring talent to our screens. 

Thousands of members gathered outside Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday and at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition in Pretoria on Thursday for its largest protest to date under the banner Save SA Film Jobs.

Molebatsi explained that the film incentives provided by the Treasury are not functioning as intended.

“This is not a grant. This is an economic multiplier that has direct implications. When the rebate is not working, it becomes a bottleneck, and we cannot close our financing.

“We have lost R26.4 billion based on research. It has gone to Ireland, to Scotland, to Mauritius, to other territories where the rebate is working, and this is what we are shouting. There are 144 of these things, but you are making us uncompetitive on a global stage if our incentive does not work.”

He added that the industry is not just about filmmaking, but about creating jobs and economic activity.

With an estimated 100,000 jobs lost in the previous year, ‘we are haemorrhaging’, Molebatsi stressed.   

“Our multiplier is five-to-one, so if we get R1 from Treasury, that rand becomes R5 due to the economic activity of the investment by the government.

“This is the kind of thing that we need to get out. This is not just about going to watch a movie or going onto Netflix; it is bigger than that. It’s about jobs.”

To listen to Molebatsi in conversation with 947’s Drive with Thando, use the audio player below: