As we come to the end of quarter 2 of 2020, the GFC reflects on the past events. It is amazing as an organisation to look back and realise the amount of work we have managed and to be able to carry on under the circumstances. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to humanity, as well as on economic industries – which includes the film and TV sectors. Although there was already impact felt by the industry globally, the pandemic accelerated the industry’s value chain transformation, from production, distribution, and content consumption. What is really the impact of COVID-19 on the industry in South Africa, is not yet know.
However, when looking at the industry globally – according to the World Economic Forum study first, “the business model is moving from third-party distribution and single-ticket sales towards owned distribution and recurring revenue. This is seen by investments in SVoD services, where a single movie or TV series is rarely a profit driver; rather, recurring subscriptions (and, in some cases, advertising revenue) produce value”. And while cinemas locally struggle to bring audiences back, streaming services seem to be the choice for many.
While the industry resumed operations since lockdown level 3, we are excited for all the productions that have restarted. And if you are still setting up your productions, the DTI film incentive has opened again recently, the NFVF continues with their programmes, as well as other film funding bodies – the film festivals are ongoing, the scheduled times may have changed and they are all virtual and this has seen an increase in online audiences and has raised the awareness of the local films. This has been an extraordinary result of the local lockdown, seeing social media platforms inundated with local content.
The GFC had a good run with online film festivals, the Africa month in May, Youth month in June, followed by the Women’s month in August was a great success, showcasing local content and the emerging talent in Gauteng. Our Masterclasses in diverse topics with industry experts were well received, and if you missed this one can visit our YouTube channel.
We continued to partner with other industry bodies, the Writers Guild of SA, SWIFT, City Varsity, Film and Publications Board, National Film and Video Foundation, Netflix, Encounters documentary film festival, Durban International film festival and other stakeholders. It was enjoyable and insightful to work with individuals who are passionate about the industry, and it definitely made the lockdown one of our busiest periods and showed what can be done if we all worked together for a common purpose – the advancement of the local film and TV industry.
At the GFC we thank all the partners that worked with us, the individuals who shared their knowledge and made time to do this. We can only build from this period’s work and we wish all the industry players an inspired time as we look forward to executing all that we have learned under very challenging times. It has not all been good, there has been job loses, budgets have been stretched, and some projects cancelled but we hope the “new normal” will bring endless opportunities for the industry as we reassess and learn to adapt.
While the covid-19 virus is still a threat, let us continue to be mindful and show up in the best way we can. Read on on what else has been going on in the world of cinema.
For the love of cinema
Siyabonga Mngoma