Keynote address by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mandisi Mpahlwa, at the launch of the revised film and television production incentive

31 March 2008

Programme Director
Deputy Minister Rob Davies
Director General and Department of Trade and Industry staff
Ladies and gentlemen and last but not least
Our esteemed artists.

It gives me great pleasure to address all of you this evening to celebrate this revised film and production incentive. We celebrate because the film industry makes an important contribution to social cohesion and nation-building both as a form of entertainment and a way of expressing the nation's culture and heritage.

But we know it is part of our heritage that film and television was for most of its early history in South Africa a medium that did not work towards social cohesion and nation building and whose workings were by and large not exposed to black people. Consider for instance the words of the National Party's Dr Albert Hertzog, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs at the time, who said that TV would come to South Africa "over his dead body," denouncing it as "a miniature bioscope over which parents would have no control."

He also argued that "South Africa would have to import films showing race mixing, and advertising would make Africans dissatisfied with their lot." The Dutch Reformed Church also proclaimed the new medium as the "devil's own box, for disseminating communism and immorality".

Bizarre as it sounds now, these were deadly serious matters then and it needed enormous courage and tenacity to overcome. So it is indeed fortunate for us that Walter Sisulu is part of our heritage and that we should be celebrating this occasion at this venue named in his honour. Indeed, it is Walter Sisulu who, in a statement he prepared in the event of his receiving the death sentence at the Rivonia trial, said that:
"All honest men have an obligation to smash oppression and tyranny wherever it exists and by whatever means. History is full of examples of the execution of those who stand for the truth. I am quite confident that our blood will certainly water the Garden of Freedom!"

I use this quote because I think it is appropriate, that when we speak of this industry, its distinctiveness, its value proposition, will ultimately be determined by the extent to which we have absorbed those principles of our heritage which allowed us to overcome such difficult struggles.

I will speak more of this later, but some of you will recall that on 28 January this year, the Department of Trade and Industry announced the revision of its film and television production incentives. We had done so after a year-long process of consultation with stakeholders regarding the formulation of a sector development strategy and how to best provide financial assistance to grow the film industry. Since then the first batch of applications has been approved and this bodes well for the collective efforts we have made to develop this incentive.

Ladies and gentlemen, you must be aware that government incentives are often a controversial means of support in developing and developed countries. Our support for this incentive has therefore come about through very careful analysis within the Department of Trade and Industry. The good news is that government recognises the potential of the film industry and has prioritised it as one of the sectors under its Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (AsgiSA).

This recognition is based on our view that that the growth of the film industry will contribute to economic development through employment and export activity, whilst simultaneously supporting a host of related supplier industries. There are a number of other reasons for our optimism. The potential for growth is enormous. Currently, we have only begun to scratch the surface given that our share of the industry's global output is estimated to be in the region of 0.4%. Notwithstanding this in South Africa the sector already employs approximately 30,000 people, on a permanent basis and in decent jobs, directly in broadcasting, film, commercials and other media related enterprises. This is not an insignificant figure at all and all of you involved in the sector should be proud of your success.

Secondly, we are currently a net importer of various types of content, for example broadcast, film entertainment and multimedia, amongst others. We need to build on our rich heritage and work hard to reverse this situation. Certainly from government's side we will continually work to create an environment conducive for the development of local content through for instance, an enabling regulatory framework, industry infrastructure and support programmes such as the one we are celebrating tonight. Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, we can say with confidence that growth in this sector is a real possibility because there are a number of advantages we can and should exploit.

Consider for instance that South Africa compares favourably with other countries in terms of production costs. We have excellent accommodation infrastructure, an advanced financial services industry as well as readily accessible supplies of supporting goods and services. These factors all contribute to our favourable location cost competitiveness. In addition, we are globally recognised for our beautiful and diverse scenery, flora and fauna, all contributing to an ideal filming and production location.

Besides these advantages, we draw further assurance from the fact that the sector has delivered to such an extent that there are now constant examples of distinctive achievement and increasing success of locally developed material for global consumption. For instance, the award-winning uCarmen eKhaylitsha and Tsotsi, the internationally acclaimed Blood Diamond, Ten Thousand BC and the Lord of War. I must once again congratulate the respective producers for these achievements. Well done!

Programme Director, as I said earlier, government support can be controversial, with some saying that there should be no support. However, we remain committed and our track record shows this commitment. For instance by 2003 the Departments of Arts and Culture, Communication and the Trade and Industry had jointly formulated a strategy for the development of content industries, approved in the same year by cabinet.

Soon after, a number of programmes were established including the Large Film and TV Production Rebate introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004. This incentive targeted productions that source a minimum of R25 million in local supplies of goods and services and therefore in the process, boosted related industry infrastructure and provided substantial opportunities for employment and skills development.

In addition, the large budget film production incentive programme has approved 49 productions for a total rebate of R351 million. In turn, these projects are estimated to have accounted for R2 billion worth of spend in South Africa for goods and services at their completion. Of this amount, R1.4 billion was direct foreign expenditure.

Ladies and gentlemen, even while we achieve success we should never be afraid to search for improvement. Thus while implementing the programme, the Department of Trade and Industry identified several areas for refinement with regard to the rebate programme. During the course of last year as I indicated earlier, the Department of Trade and Industry held consultations with stakeholders, including the national Departments of Arts and Culture, Communications and the Treasury; the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which incidentally has become one of the major investors in the film sector, the provincial film commissions in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban as well as private financiers, and producers.

This process recognised and more closely identified the concurrent competencies residing within these organisations and therefore, identified a need to coordinate the deployment of our resources for better impact. The outcome of this analysis is that the new film and television production incentive now comprises two components, one focussing on attracting international productions to film in South Africa, and the other focusing on providing financial support to local productions and co-productions. This also means that the Department of Trade and Industry has increased the financial support available for local productions thereby encouraging local content generation and further improving the location competitiveness of South Africa.

Thus, the anticipated increase in productions will result in the creation of more employment opportunities, directly in production and in supplies of goods and services to international productions. The overall impact of this is that we will create an environment in which our local industry will become a bigger player.

But, in addition to the financial support provided through the incentives, a number of other important measures are being implemented as part of the broader sector development strategy. And here I must stress that we are supporting such measures in partnership with key stakeholders such as the NFVF, who have played a pivotal role in the development of the local industry. So, these measures include enterprise capacity development for emerging production companies; development of scarce skills in areas such as scriptwriting and editing; and the establishment of pilot programmes in different locations to address distribution infrastructure and audience expansion.

We also believe that the recent issuing of new broadcasting licenses by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) will reinforce this momentum and play a major role in opening up market competition and opportunities for local content generation.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Department of Trade and Industry is also paying close attention to matters regarding ownership and protection of intellectual property rights. This is an important matter and I strongly advise new entrants to the industry to be familiar with the registration processes required to protect their work and control the commercial use of their copyright material.

Advice in this regard is readily available within the Copyright in Cinematograph Films division of the Companies Registration Office (CIPRO) and you are strongly encouraged to go out and get this advice. My encouragement in this regard, is based on the important reality that what these incentives will provide, is an opportunity that will allow many of our creators rather than financers to own their work.

Another component of Department of Trade and Industry support is infrastructure and during the past year, a grant under the Critical Infrastructure Programme for the construction of the R16,3 million bulk infrastructure for the Dream World Film City to be located in Cape Town, has been approved.

The project involves the construction of a one-stop media production facility encompassing, amongst other services, eight film stages, production facilities, digital studio services and outdoor production areas. The project is envisaged to crowd-in an estimated R1 billion investment and create more than 4,000 employment opportunities in addition to contributing to the economic potential of areas such as Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Langa and Mitchell's Plain.

Besides this direct infrastructure, we also recognise the importance of providing distribution infrastructure in areas where the facilities to view our films are either very poor or completely absent and therefore increase the accessibility and viewership of our creative products.

All in all, the hard evidence is that we are moving forward at a rapid rate and we have followed up on plans with action. As government, this is just about as much we can do. And let me be frank, it is the professionals, the artists in the sector upon whom it is now incumbent to take matters further. We cannot teach you the art of camera work or excellence in sound engineering and we certainly cannot teach you much about being a great artist. You will have to draw inspiration from our heritage.

I referred earlier to the value proposition the South African film and television sector can offer the world. Let me use Tata Sisulu again: Ruth First wrote of him that: "Walter Sisulu was not a man for the public occasion, though he could rise to any. He was the man who made the public occasions possible, who behind the scenes had carried the burden of the organisation's work. It was his earnest attention to detail, his patient persistence, which carried the congress and its campaigns through the country. Walter Sisulu had other, rarer qualities too. He had the capacity to concentrate on the principal issues. By his own example of seriousness and dedication he had the ability to persuade those with doubts and those with differences that these should at no cost be allowed to prevail over the central objectives of the struggle. Walter Sisulu did not command; he persuaded. His personal behaviour, free of malice and self-seeking, reinforced his political clarity. He was a revolutionary because he understood fearlessly the failure of the society in which he lived to produce any alternative life for this people. He was also a revolutionary because he valued and loved people; he despaired of any change except by the masses, and he lived in the hope and confidence that they would rise to the challenge."

This is a great story in a tapestry of many great stories very many of which has not yet been told in its fullness. Of course, the specific challenge he hoped we would rise too, was indeed met. But in the words written by Ruth First, we also see that Walter Sisulu would have wanted us to go beyond the specific challenge of defeating apartheid. It is also a challenge of how we, as Africans, see our contribution to the rest of the world.

What is it that as we tackle our own challenges, we bring to the World to address the many concerns of humanity and to rise to the challenge of a better world for all of us? I have no simple answer to this, but I strongly suspect our artists are extremely important in helping us explore these matters because artists possess the unique ability to provide society with a mirror of itself. Artists have this unique ability to make us laugh at ourselves, to appreciate our ourselves, and artists often reflect quite deeply about the nature challenges and complexities of our society providing us with insights that we ourselves find difficult to articulate.

So, I place this challenge before you as another context for us to consider as we tackle the challenge of improving conditions for film production in South Africa. Amongst others we need to accelerate efforts for skills development to ensure the adequate supply of people entering the industry. We need world-class producers, directors and scriptwriters to ensure long term industry growth and sustainability.

Now, clearly this is not a pipe dream. Right here in Soweto, we have produced a Gibson Kente. Our country has produced a Mbongeni Ngema, a Mfundi Vundla a Zola Maseko a Maishe Maponya, a Duma Ka Ndlovu, a Don Mattera and a Matsemela Manaka, a man who lived ahead of his time. The relevance today of the narrative of Goree which he did in 1986 is quite remarkable. These talents are but a small sample of those they follow and of the many who are currently beginning to expand their talents.

Ladies and gentlemen, furthermore there is a need to improve industry information in general. We need to explore ways to share information and experiences more effectively. We need systems to measure the progress we are making in this industry and develop best practices. As a country, we need industry research to improve our insights into the developments within the industry and ensure evidence based policy planning and review. Finally, I also believe that we can do better in market development to expand local audiences and increase opportunities for the export of South African film and television products.

In conclusion, you would note that these issues cannot be addressed by anyone of us operating in our own silos. And as government, the private sector and our international partners we will need to work together work as a collective, if we are to succeed together.

So, I want to end off on a lighter note and repeat what Jerry Zucker the producer of the films Naked Gun and My Best Friends Wedding, had to say: he said
"I work in a business where almost everyone is waiting for the next big thing. Sometimes it comes, and sometimes it doesn't. But it doesn't matter that your dream came true if you spent your whole life sleeping. So get out there and go for it, but don't be caught waiting. It's great to plan for your future. Just don't live there, because really nothing ever happens in the future. Whatever happens now, so live your life where the action is now."

And as you go out to where the action is remember the words of Francis Ford Coppola, who said that in his opinion cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians. Go out and make your Magic!