South Africa's once-thriving film industry says it's on the verge of collapse because the government has withheld financial support for the past two years, leaving thousands of actors, producers, writers and support staff struggling to find work.
Hundreds of South African film and television professionals rallied outside Parliament in Cape Town as part of the "Save SA Film Jobs" protests. Dressed in black and carrying banners, actors, crew, writers, producers, and industry bodies (SAGA, WGSA, IPO, SASFED, and others) demanded urgent fixes to the stalled DTIC Film & TV Incentive Programme — delayed approvals, unpaid rebates, and frozen projects that are driving productions overseas and costing thousands of jobs.
The number of films and documentaries made in the country soared in part due to the South African Film and Television Production Incentive, which provides rebates of up to 40% of costs to production companies that meet certain requirements. However, the industry complains that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) is withholding between R600 million ($37.5 million) and R1 billion that is due to qualifying companies — in violation of court orders to pay out the money. Furthermore, a panel within the department that adjudicates on rebates hasn't met for two years.
"It's a pure case of maladministration," said Jade Ganzena, secretary general of the Independent Producers Organization. "We stand on the brink of collapse as an industry."
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said the issue is being addressed, and his department is in the process of dispensing with a backlog of applications. The incentive scheme underperformed during the Covid pandemic "and the budget was taken away and reallocated to other programs," he told a lawmakers' panel. "We have been saying to National Treasury to reallocate" the money.
About 6,600 people, including actors, writers and producers, work in film and television, while hundreds of thousands of others are employed in support roles, but those numbers have shrunk considerably. "We have seen a massive contraction in the industry," said production company owner Luke Rous.
Originally reported by Bloomberg (17 Feb 2026). Photo: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers.
Source: sundaytribune.co.za