An abridged version of my report as an Accounting Officer published in our 2006/2007 annual report.
In our 2006 annual report, I reported on my five years as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). I used the occasion to thank the inaugural Council that appointed me and the then outgoing Council chaired by Mr Mfundi Vundla.
At the time, we were anticipating the appointment of the new Council which did not happen until June 2007. Unfortunately, failure to appoint the Council impacted negatively on the governing structures of the NFVF, e.g. the appointment of the Audit Committee and the performance of Risk Assessment by the internal auditors. The matter has been raised in the audit and we have also raised the matter with the Department of Arts and Culture which is solely responsible for the appointment of the Council.
I find myself in a position again to thank the outgoing council for their leadership, dedication, business approach to their work in Council and foresight in having brought us to where we are as an institution. On behalf of the staff at the NFVF, I would like to thank them all for having allowed us to do our job to the best of our ability, without any undue interference but holding us accountable for the responsibilities we had committed ourselves to.
I specifically would like to thank Mr Vundla for his leadership, dedication to the development of our industry and for supporting all our efforts without fear or favour. Whilst it is acknowledged that he is very successful in his own right, he was never half hearted in his commitment to the work at hand. Mr Vundla at the end of his term as chairperson, at a dinner he hosted, on behalf of his family, made a pledge of R1 million towards the Trevor Jones Scholarship Fund, established as a collaboration between Mr Trevor Jones, the NFVF and the National Film and Television School in the UK. This is the first commitment I know of, by an individual who has been successful through the business of film. I hope this act of generosity by Mr Vundla is an encouragement to others, who are yet to respond to the Minister’s call for the private sector to contribute to the development of the film and television industry in our country.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Council to be led by Mrs Charlotte Mampane, the current acting Chief Operating Officer at the SABC. Mrs Mampane has served on the Council in the last four years and has also been an active member of the Audit Committee. She is very strong on issues of governance and has vast experience and knowledge in the broadcast sector.
It is a national moral imperative to create platforms for ordinary South Africans to be able to bear influence in the expression of their own images. In this way, we, as an industry, can contribute to furthering our democratic ideals and creating prosperity.
This statement is fundamental to all NFVF activities and we feel that it is part of our task to accelerate the pace of economic growth and job creation within the cultural industries through film and to extend the scope of development and empowerment.
Our approach has four key priority areas for the long-term.
* To increase foreign and local direct investment into film production through encouragement of private-public partnerships.
* To invest directly in infrastructure and facilitate industrial capital formation required to exhibit South African and African film product.
* To improve access to a viable film industry both in terms of ownership and in terms of consumption and lastly.
* To establish a regulatory and legal framework for the industry, that will provide the necessary certainty and stability required by the investor community.
The NFVF is pleased to note that our government through Asgisa, does acknowledge that film is more than just an economic activity, recognising the social, ideological and cultural aspects of the moving image. The affirmation of a people’s culture, through film is an integral part of the overall social, cultural and economic development and therefore prosperity for the nation.
Although the primary objectives of the NFVF relate to promotion of the film and video industry, the NFVF acknowledges the important role of film and television in asserting and projecting cultural presence and identity. Indigenous productions tell stories in the language and idiom of a country, they define places and peoples and they impact powerfully on people’s sense of belonging.
As the government noted with the adoption of the Macro Economic Framework, "The second challenge of the RDP was building the economy, but now that the pace of economic growth needs to be accelerated, investment in industry and infrastructure and an expansion of job opportunities are critical challenges – all to underpin growth and expand room for broad based empowerment." Since its inception, the NFVF has achieved many of its goals within the macro-economic framework articulated by government.
The NFVF believes that key to the development of the film industry in South Africa is effective skills development, increased access to film theatres, nurturing prospects for people from disadvantaged communities and equitable distribution of resources.
In many developing countries, including South Africa, cultural industries and in particular film are not sufficiently exploited to their full commercial potential. Their contribution to local job creation and foreign exchange earnings are seen as being limited. Film in our country whilst recognised for the economic and commercial value it creates and the economic impact it has in a region, has not had the support required to achieve necessary societal impact. And more than often this sector is to some extent neglected or not acknowledged as being a part of the manufacturing industry of a country. We need to move away from the view that film production should only be seen as a hobby like activity rather than a profit-making activity. This is quite contrary to other developed nations where the sector contributes a significant proportion of the gross national product. The recently published study by the Cape Film Commission supports this assertion.
* Industry Fragmentation
The fragmentation within the industry is an area of concern. At Indaba 2005, the industry recognised the need to establish an industry federation as recommended by the NFVF Indaba report. The South African Screen Federation (SASFED) was established in 2005. However the industry still remains fragmented with the existence of various producer organisations such as the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO), The Producers Alliance (TPA) and Black Filmmakers Network (BFN).
* Government fragmentation
At Indaba 2005, concern was raised at the lack of co-ordination between government departments. The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is the lead department that needs to co-ordinate an inter-governmental steering committee on cultural industries.
In relation to film matters, the role of the DAC is to represent the NFVF at various forums and platforms, such as the service delivery clusters to which we have no direct access. The failure on the part of the DAC to do this has meant that, there is a lack of awareness at high levels of government about programmes that could be implemented and be in support of key government initiatives such as ASGISA , economic development and poverty alleviation.
We are greatful though that, through the Minister's effort, an extra R9million was redirected from the DAC and that assisted us to deliver on new programmes like the South African Film and TV Awards and the short film contests for stories in indigenous languages and stories by women filmmakers.
The Customised Sector Programme (CSP) is still under development by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and little progress has been made since this issue was reported on in the NFVF Annual Report for 2006. We are aware that the Film & Production Rebate is currently being revised by the DTI However, our concern is that this is taking place outside of the CSP framework and is therefore not informed by a broader strategy that has been adopted by the affected agencies and stakeholders.
Despite the many constraints faced by the NFVF, including our limited funding, the NFVF still continues to deliver on its mandate. The successes that we have seen in this financial year include the very successful hosting of the first ever South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTA) that recognise and reward excellence in the industry. This was also made possible by a very successful working relationship with the public broadcaster, the SABC. Both institutions recognise the common mandate they have to broadly develop the industry, increase the quota of local content and develop skills in the industry.
The past year has seen the collaboration with the SABC on key programmes such as SEDIBA (skills development initiative), SAFTA (South African Film & Television awards), Cape Town World Cinema Festival incorporating Sithengi, MIPCOM & MIPTV (international sales and marketing television expo’s). The NFVF & SABC are in the process of finalising an MoU that will formalise the relationship into the future.
The co-production treaty with the United Kingdom was signed in May 2006. In anticipation of the treaty, the NFVF and the UK film Council launched a very successful pitching contest, called 25 Words or Less. A very successful workshop was held in August 2006 and all the projects are well on track in the development process. It is anticipated that all projects will have finalised the development stage by December 2007.
We are convinced of the fact that strategic opportunities exist for creating a dynamic market for African film and clearly see the film industry having it’s future being an exporter of products to the rest of the world and mainly between African countries. Various opportunities exist and need to be explored to create a culture of sustainable resources management wherein film can flourish, and the ideals of an African renaissance can be realised.
For African film to flourish, it has to appeal first to audiences at home before we can hope to break into foreign markets, at the same time proper facilities have to be created. It is the intention of the NFVF in the 2007/2008 financial year to begin a pilot project in Soweto whereby we establish alternative Digital Screens, based on a concept of multiple screens. The introduction of this concept is endorsing an old belief that going to cinema is still an experience and that cinema is an important revenue stream.
In the 2007/2008 financial year the NFVF intends submitting to the Minister of Arts and Culture and the Minister of Trade and Industry a proposal for the establishment of an entity to invest in film – the South African Film Development Corporation as anticipated by the Section 3 (a) of NFVF Act as amended. The NFVF believes, this entity will assist in delivering the content that would elevate South Africa into a true film making nation. It is the NFVF’s belief that, unless as a country, we produce 15 – 20 films per year consistently for the next five years, our efforts to develop an appreciation for local film is an exercise in futility.
The NFVF believes that facilitating investment and funding into film will be the true engine for job creation. Government’s role is creating an enabling environment that supports the development of a vibrant market for film, stimulating the emergence of locally based small business enterprises, and creation and support for distribution channels.
The film industry could play a much more important role in the economy of our country with government support, through a clearly articulated cultural policy and appropriate measures to promote the various sectors, and, in particular, to promote what may be called entrepreneurship. The NFVF wishes to move away from the so-called 'non-profit cultural entrepreneurship' or "subsistence filmmaking" which focuses on the sustainability of the enterprise, through support by funders or donations, and that has as its objective, social and cultural purposes and not necessarily that of economic stimulation. The NFVF believes that there is an opportunity for empowering both the producers of local product and distributors by ensuring that they generate decent incomes from their productive efforts, as well as linking them to market opportunities and thus generating income.
We need to develop a market niche for filmmaking and create and support distribution channels to ensure the wide distribution of African film. We know it has been said often enough but the statistics still show us the truth, our cinema screens remain dominated by Hollywood product. Only a few Africans ever get to see an African film. Therefore our major challenge is to develop more effective and sustainable ways and mechanisms with which African film can break out of its traditional confines of festivals and community centres into cinema theatres both in urban but most importantly in the underserviced areas.
