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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE STATE OF THE SA FILM INDUSTRY
34 SOUTH PRODUCER DINGI NTULI AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

The South African film industry is booming, moving from being one of the top five production destinations in the world to becoming a major producer of films for the local and international market.
But all is not well, says Dingi Ntuli, writer/producer of the history-making South African film 34 South and author of a controversial new study on the local film industry released by the Cape Film Commission. Dingi will be available for interviews in Cape Town to discuss the pros and cons of the SA film industry to coincide with the eagerly anticipated release of 34 South on March 11, 2005.

FULL STORY

The South African film industry is booming. In recent years the Western Cape has emerged as a one of the top five production locations in the world. Nicholas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Tom Cruise, Salma Hayek, Colin Farrell and Taye Diggs are just some of the stars who graced our shores last year, and the industry has begun to generate between R2-R4 billion annually from the servicing of commercials, made-for-television and feature films. Government has responded by prioritizing film as a strategic growth industry and developing new policy frameworks to grow the sector.
South Africa is also moving beyond being a destination to becoming a major producer of feature films. South Africa has one of the oldest motion (1896) picture industries in the world. For a brief period (1916–24), South Africa was one of the top five film producing nations in the world. After a long slump, there is now hope for a return to such days of glory. At least twelve South African films will be released in the next eighteen months. Last year, while South African Charlize Theron won an Oscar for best actress, local films Forgiveness, Hotel Rwanda, Out on a Limb and Cape of Good Hope were winning awards at film festivals around the world. This year, Yesterday has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film.
But all is not well, says Dingi Ntuli, producer of the history-making South African film 34 South and author of a controversial new study on the film industry released by the Cape Film Commission.
“While the industry is growing exponentially, it has failed to create employment and business opportunities for the majority of the population. Less than 0.1% of all managers, technical crews and service providers are Black. If anything, the tiny number of Black industry practitioners has actually been in net decline within the corresponding period of the industry’s most rapid growth phase,” says Dingi. Black consumers have faired little better, as access to cinemas and retail video outlets is difficult and expensive. “South Africa represents one of the most fragmented markets in the world with the bulk of its consumer-base having been thoroughly neglected. In this sense, South Africa’s motion picture industry in its present format is unsustainable, and must undergo radical transformation if it is to survive over the next hundred years.”
Cinemas are empty. In Cape Town, seat occupancy is less than 7%, while in the Western Cape seat occupancy is less than 0.1%. Of the 26 millions tickets sold, only four million are sold to Blacks, in a country where they constitute the majority. Income is not the only issue, since poverty-riddled India has 33 000 cinemas in contrast to South Africa’s 600.
Despite this, in 2003 the distribution and exhibition sector generated over R479 million. However, while three major players (Ster Kinekor, Nu Metro and UIP) dominate the sector, they function primarily as sales and marketing arms for US studios, which supply 70% of all releases. A small number of films come from independent US producers (25%), Europeans (4%) and others (1%). While in television, the SABC must use 55% local content; only 0.5% of the films released theatrically are South African. As a result, the bulk of South Africa’s total box office revenue flows back to US and other foreign companies.
34 South is the wickedly funny story of Frank September and his mates, who are desperate to leave Cape Town and get to Jo’burg. Unfortunately, they have no money, no transport and no contacts in The City of Gold. Undeterred by mere technicalities, the crew set out on the ride of their lives. 34 South is a heartwarming and thought-provoking road-movie about sex, drugs and ballroom dancing.
As a result of the study, Dingi has decided against releasing 34 South through Nu Metro or Ster-Kinekor. Instead, the release of 34 South will be staggered from March 11, 2005, to tie-in with a province-by-province road show, beginning in Cape Town and ending in Jo’burg, and will make use of independent cinemas around the country. “We’ve done this for very practical reasons. The current landscape in terms of major distributors isn’t conducive to nurturing and supporting the release of a local picture like ours appropriately. I’ve seen no evidence contrary to that. I’ve seen some very disappointing results. Predominantly black pictures like God is African or Chicken Biznis could have had an extraordinary impact in this country but were extremely badly handled at best.”
34 South is a shining example of how the film industry can be used for Black economic empowerment. There was a Black producer, a Black director, four Black heads of departments. More than forty percent of the crew and most of the cast were Black, and there were fifteen trainees across all departments.
Dingi will be available for interviews in Cape Town to discuss the pros and cons of the SA film industry, as well as speak about 34 South, the new film he wrote, produced and scored.

ISSUED BY:
Kevin Kriedemann
Film Publicist
Tel: +27(0)83 556 2346
Email: kevinkr@mweb.co.za