Industry Snapshot Special: COVID-19 and Film

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT ON

CORONAVIRUS

In a special Industry Snapshot, we look at how the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has affected and continues to impact the film industry in Africa and across the world.

and the Commercial Producers Association has called for crew to assist producers in finding a solution to these issues. That said, there are production houses who are have ‘business as usual’ plastered on their doors. Although internationals cannot

© Fusion Medical Animation (via Unsplash)

It started as a trickle in December. We heard rumours of Sony, Universal,

Netflix and others halting productions and closing offices, of international festivals being postponed or cancelled. But Africa only began to feel the real effects of the COVID-19 pandemic less than a month ago. On 27 March 2020, as the coronavirus victim

TELL YOUR CORONAVIRUS STORY

Submit your news about COVID-19 and how it has affected you. Tell us your stories of success despite the odds, challenges you face, and how your business is innovating to stay afloat in this climate. Send your stories to kim@filmeventmedia.co.za

count in SA started to grow exponentially day by day, President Cyril Ramaphosa enforced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. This has resulted in businesses going bankrupt, commercial and film service work being postponed or lost completely, and has generally forced us to think very carefully about the high-contact group sport we call filmmaking and whether this is a new normal to adapt to like the power shortages or the water crises our country has faced in the past.

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL COUNT

One of the first major festivals to fall was SXSW, which was cancelled in early March just days ahead of its launch. This was followed by MIPTV moving to a completely online format amidst France’s clampdown on the pandemic spread. This has also meant that Cannes Film Festival will no longer be taking place in May, nor will Cannes Lions in June. Locally the pandemic has already affected the Cape Town International Animation Festival which has moved its event to 2021, while local independent filmmakers like Motion City Films’ Boni&Wes have been hosting exclusive online premieres in the wake of cinema shutdowns.

Most government bodies and local associations have expressed their support of the industry during this trying time. This includes but is not limited to Wesgro, who has launched a COVID-19 support initiative (read more further in this magazine), the Documentary Filmmakers Association, the Independent Producers Organisation, the South African Guild of Actors, and many others.

The commercial industry has reported several cancelled jobs,

COVID-19 IN NUMBERS

On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, China. ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2’ (SARSCoV-2) was confirmed as the causative agent of what we now know as ‘Coronavirus Disease 2019’ (COVID-19). Since then, the virus has spread to more than 100 countries, including South Africa. As of 1 April 2020, South Africa has: • Conducted 44 202 tests for coronavirus • Identified 1 380 positive cases • Seen 31 recoveries • Reported 5 deaths

For daily updated stats and numbers, visit www.sacoronavirus.co.za Emergency Hotline in SA: 0800 029 999 WhatsApp Support: 0600 123 456

travel to SA, some are working remotely. With digital film work, the footage can be recorded simultaneously to hard disk in a format that can be immediately viewed on a monitor. Most post production houses will assist with delivering digitised rushes for the director, cinematographer, and editor to view – often transferred through the cloud. Moonsport specialise in remote sport streaming technology, while Media Host’s Adstream efficiently and effectively integrates Digital Asset Management (DAM) workflow tools and a global asset delivery network all on a single platform.

IF YOUR BUSINESS HAS BEEN AFFECTED

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) has invited the industry to submit funding applications for script development, animation, and post-production projects. The call for these applications was supposed to have opened in August, but this has been hastened “to keep the industry busy during this downtime”. The NFVF will also provide a once-off cash injection of R500 000 to the ten companies currently commissioned by the organisation.

A range of funds and assistance has been made available to South African businesses affected by the coronavirus. All business can claim tax breaks of up to R1 500 a month per employee who earns less than R6 500. As part of the special Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS), money will be paid out to workers in distressed companies. The maximum benefit is R6 730 a month. Companies struggling to pay salaries due to the coronavirus crisis need to report this per email to Covid19ters@labour.gov.za.

For SMEs, there are two main government schemes aimed at small businesses. The Debt Relief Finance Scheme and the Business Growth/ Resilience Facility. For both of these, companies first need to register at smmesa.gov.za.

For companies with an annual turnover of less than R50 million, there is an option to delay payment of provisional tax to 30 September 2021, while these same businesses can also keep back 20% of the payas-you-earn (PAYE) payments for the next four months.

The Oppenheimer family R1 billion will be paid out directly to employees of SMMEs as interest-free loans through banks. The Rupert R1 billion will be distributed as loans through Business Partners (www.businesspartners.co.za).

Many other options are also available and more will likely become available in coming weeks and months. Stay tuned to www.thecallsheet.co.za for daily updates.

HSRC AND SWIFT WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

The Human Sciences Research Council would like to hear from the South Africa public to find out more about how individuals, communities and businesses have been, and will be affected by the progression of this disease. You can do their survey completely anonymously, by going to this link: tiny.cc/HSRC Sisters Working in Film and Television together with the other industry bodies under SASFED, are compiling a list of members who are negatively impacted by the National Lockdown that commenced on Friday the 27th of March 2020. If you have been impacted through a loss or postponement of work or income, please take the time to fill in the form: tiny.cc/SWIFTform

CREATURE SHOP

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CONTACT US

Unit 11 Montego Park, 3 Marconi Rd, Montague Gardens, Cape Town

Graham Press

graham@thecreatureshop.co.za Tel: +27 82 379 3937

Kaila McLoughlin

kaila@thecreatureshop.co.za Tel: +27 73 250 6611