R22.80 July 2012 www.thecallsheet.co.za
pg9
pg14
pg18
NFVF FILM CRITERIA THREATENS CO-PROS GENERAL INDUSTRY The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) took to the road in June and July 2012 to address industry on the proposed South African Film Criteria. They held feedback sessions in Port elizabeth, Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. The Callsheet attended the Cape Town session, which took place at The Victoria Junction hotel, Green Point, on 29 June 2012.
T
HE NFVF was presenting their criteria for South African film, a document which sets criteria for South African film based on a point system. The criteria apply to local productions and official co-productions. The NFVF have introduced these criteria in the interests of transforming the South African film industry. Although there were less than 30 members of industry in attendance, they were vocal in their concerns about the application of the revised criteria. The area of co-productions and particularly minority co-productions were a cause of grave concern for the industry members who were present. Proceedings kicked off with a brief introduction from the NFVF’s head of development and production Clarence Hamilton, who stated that he hopes the changes will come into effect within the coming months. The NFVF’s presentation was made by Mawande Seti, the organisation’s legal and policy officer. She revealed the criteria were first tabled in 2009 followed by a round of industry consultations last year. She said that this final version
Clarence hamilton
has been tabled with the industry’s input in mind, and revealed that this would be the final round of consultation on the document. She said they are still open to public submissions, so the document presented is still a work in progress. Mawande then went over the industry concerns that were tabled at the consulting session in September 2011. The first was the absence of other government stakeholders, including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and treasury who were not present at the first round of consultations. The second issue raised by
industry was the usage and point allocations to key criteria - industry was very concerned about the points allocated to director and writer positions because they felt it would be impractical with regards to minority co-productions. There was also the issue of language. Some industry members felt that Afrikaans should be excluded from the languages for eligibility. It was also felt that there should be a subsection that catered to servicing companies and that there should be points allocated to training and mentorship. They also called for the criteria to contain irreducible minimums of about 30%.
Following industry’s recommendations during the first round of consultations, the NFVF consulted with the DTI and with the Department of Communications (DOC) as well as the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC). The DTI came down in support of the criteria - feeling it would ease the administration burden they currently find themselves with. The DTI felt that the criteria would help them to decide if a co-production is deserving of the rebate - as they feel they don’t have the necessary expertise to assess this. The NFVF also met with the DOC, who were in support of the criteria on the grounds that it would result
in true transformation of the film industry. The DAC was also firmly in support of the criteria, feeling that these criteria would play a large role in regulating the industry. The NFVF feels that the government departments that deal with film will experience stronger relations thanks to the film criteria. The NFVF revised the criteria based on the input from industry. Changes include points for historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs) including black people, white women and disabled people. However there are no points allocated to servicing companies as they feel servicing companies are not real co-production partners based on the ideas of cultural exchange. The NFVF also disagreed with the recommendation to allocate points based on training and mentorship on the grounds that this will place an unnecessary burden on government in terms of administration and ensuring that training does actually take place. The changes between the first and the second draft include: the revision of the allocation of points for key creatives, no more sub totaling and a revision of the points allocated for actors. Eligibility for co-productions and South African productions has been lowered too. The NFVF will be taking industry input, ahead of submitting a final proposal for approval by council. The document will also have to be gazetted by the government. Filmmakers will be given a grace period for when the criteria will come into effect. Continued on page eight