“South Africa boasts one of the largest cinema-going populations in the world” – The South African Film Industry

Keyan Tomaselli, The South African Film Industry, (African Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, 1979), 1

Thesis: South Africa has much to offer in the world of film, but is limited due to lacking infrastructure and social constructs

Introduction

            The world of film is vast and ever-growing. American films alone are hard to keep up with the release of, as there are so many coming out each year. If you are able to see all the latest movies released in the states, you might see yourself as a big film buff. However, here in the west, we are often ignorant to the art and culture of other continents outside of North America, which is a crucial part of communication. While European movies are not as popular here as in the East, what is even more niche is African film. In this blog, I plan to explore the world of South African film and the stories that South Africans have to tell.

            The most well-known film scene in Africa is Nollywood, which is Nigerian Hollywood. Nollywood is famous for romantic comedies and lighthearted films. However, even Nollywood is not very well known in the west. Even less well known is the South African film scene, which does not have a moniker. South Africa is generally known for racially charged movies surrounding apartheid South Africa. Obviously these movies are very important, however I believe South African film has a lot more to offer, with a wide variety of stories to tell. Part of my research is finding the lesser known South African voices, as well as the bigger names in the industry.  

In my research, I aim to dive deep into the South African perspective on cinema. Not only the cinema itself, but my research also answers the question: what are the challenges facing South African filmmakers when it comes to getting their movie produced? I believe that South Africa, and Africa as a continent, has a lot of interesting stories and visuals which cannot be expressed due to challenges facing young filmmakers in the industry. Some of those issues include funding and infrastructure, but other issues arise from things we wouldn’t normally think about, like piracy and distribution. It’s important to explore these issues in detail, so we can better understand how to avoid these problems in the future.

My research was conducted with a wide variety of sources. Not only did I watch South African movies, but there were many key books that I read on the topic that changed my perspective on South African film. I am not only trying to explore South African film, but South African film makers as well. There are a lot of films about South Africa and a lot of scholarly articles about South African film, but I am most interested in people who are in the South African film industry. I want to hear a native perspective on the matter and not try to jump to conclusions on my own. What is it like to work within the South African film system compared to the American film system? Are there benefits that we don’t have here in the states? What is censorship like in South Africa? As an aspiring filmmaker myself, I believe everyone has the right to tell their story.