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INDUSTRY
Status of locations
in Gauteng
Is Gauteng ‘film friendly'
or not? And can Gauteng
make that claim? The simple
answer to that is No! says
GAVIN GILLESPIE in
his feedback report on the
Gauteng Film Indaba.
For a city to make the claim that
they are film friendly, they are
publicly declaring that they are
committed to service, have a full
understanding of the needs and
demands of the industry and have all
the necessary set ups in place, not only
in the private sector but more
importantly in the public sector.
Filmmakers need to know that
locations as well as logistical and
technical support are consistently and
easily available. They need to know
that productions will be co-ordinated
smoothly by city authorities. Gauteng
does not have a clear understanding of
these needs and demands nor does
Johannesburg have the necessary set
ups in place. However, in saying this
one cannot discount the efforts by the
Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) to
facilitate this process and turn Gauteng
into a film friendly province.
The general concerns lie mainly with
the lack of support from the
Johannesburg Metro Police
Department (JMPD) and City
administrators. However, the single
most talked about concern is the R450
per hour fee levied on all shoots which
have to make use of municipal property
to park units on streets, in car parks etc.
This is seen by the industry as a tax
with absolutely no benefits and is
contrary to everything that a film
friendly city stands for. It must be noted
that every effort is being made to get
this fee lifted.
Mistakes
As a city we are in an advantageous
position to learn from the mistakes of
other big cities like Sydney, New York,
Los Angeles to name a few, where
there was an attitude and environment
of contempt when dealing with film.
The result was runaway productions to
Toronto in Canada, South America,
Mexico and New Zealand (which
offered film incentives). Every effort
should be made to consult with these
cities and apply what has been learnt to
our city.
It is no secret that the film industry
is an industry of inconvenience and to
operate, we rely heavily on the good
will and understanding of others.
Therefore, the only way we can expect
to be taken seriously is if the city
recognises the financial benefits of film
– not only from a location fee
perspective but also the spin-off
benefits for tourism, car rental, the
restaurant sector, hotels etc. It is not
how we go about presenting our case to
the city, but rather whether it will be
prepared to listen and action what is
necessary to make Gauteng a film
friendly?
Councillor Parks Tau, who was
present at the Film Indaba, stressed
that the City is committed to providing
the industry with a single point of entry
in respect to film. He also pointed out
that the city has been investigating the
establishment of a film hub, which will
support emerging production
companies through dedicated facilities.
Councillor Tau requested that the
industry formulate a clear business case
for the industry and he availed himself
to meeting with the industry. He noted
that some of the current problems stem
from the fact that film is not often seen
as an industry and it has therefore not
traditionally been prioritised by council.
Now, unless the above is done in
consultation and collaboration with the
industry it is unfortunately, without
sounding pessimistic, doomed for
failure. One just has to look south to
realise that city departments that are
put in place without the knowledge or
the know-how of the needs and
demands of the industry, become
obstacles and gate keepers rather than
assets and opportunities to streamline
the process.
We are 100% dependant on the city
and its councillors to make film
everyone’s business, which could mean
employing people in the designated
departments to deal with film
specifically or even adding film to
existing employees’ job descriptions.
But unless this happens the concept of
a film friendly city will only remain a
notion.
As an industry and city we would be
wise to avoid the opportunistic-type
private location companies coming in
and stealing our assets. A plan should
be put in place whereby all or any
individual or company operating in the
location sector has to be registered with
the GFC as an official operator. This
will mean that standards and
procedures will have to be adhered to
and fees on private locations can be
monitored.
As we are often dependent on the
man in the street it is paramount that
Permit fees
questioned
The R450 per hour fee levied on all shoots when making use of
Johannesburg municipal property and the lack of support by the
Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) was hotly criticised by
panellists taking part in a special 2008 Film Indaba session on the
thorny question of whether Gauteng could claim to be ‘film friendly’.
Shrinking local and worldwide budgets together with the rising cost of
production, meant that producers had to consider the cost of shooting in a
particular location.
According to Gavin Gillespie, Fresh Eye Films Production, part of the
problem lay with provincial and municipal departments which did not
recognise film as a legitimate industry in Gauteng. This gave rise to a lack of
sensitivity to the needs of the industry.
“We are all fighting the battle of finance. We simply can’t afford the R450
per hour permit fee. There are also no financial incentives to attract
international productions to the province.”
In dealing with departments like the JMPD, producers were continually
frustrated by the lack of response to requests. “We don’t have the luxury of
waiting for a month to know whether we can shoot on the Nelson Mandela
bridge. We are a R750m industry but we are not recognised. Mostly we are
seen as irritating and obstructive by the departments we have to deal with,”
said Gillespie.
Cape Town film consultant, Martin Cuff who chaired the discussion,
confirmed that in his research on the permit situation he received no return
calls from municipal departments he had contacted. “We need to make
government departments understand that film is a core business of the
country’s economic development.”
Rehad Desai, representing the South African Screen Federation (SASFED),
said that the appeal of locations were intrinsically linked to financial incentives.
“People go where the incentives are. Government’s commitment of resources is
also too short term. It can take 15 years to create and shoot a production.”
Speaking about the experience of the Sante Fe Film Office, New Mexico in
the US, Lisa Van Allen explained that the State government was good about
supporting film with incentives. “Sante Fe charges only a nominal fee for
officers and parking in municipal areas. Basically we have a permit simply to
track the number of productions shot in the city.”
Councilor Parks Tau of the City of Johannesburg said the industry needed to
engage with him and his department more closely. He saw the creation of a
film production hub as playing a role in facilitating production support and
accessibility in the city. “The approach needs to be two prong: to define
problems and find solutions.”
Commenting from the floor, Barry Munchik, Velocity Films, said that
commercial production was down by 50 to 70% which affected job creation.
“We need a low cost friendly city and we will probably be able to create 500
jobs.” The only reason commercials were coming back to the country was the
very favourable rate of exchange of the Rand to the Euro and Dollar.
the GFC embark on a local marketing
exercise in newspapers and local
gazettes to inform the citizens of
Gauteng about the benefits of film.
The general public need to know that a
Commission exists, and that they can
contact the GFC when seeking advice
about concerns relating to the industry.
A film friendly city relies not only on
the local government but on the
attitude and co-operation of its people
as well.
Fee increase
There is the concern that the
privatisation and refurbishment of the
city centre by big business has caused
location fees to increase substantially,
making them unaffordable. In some
cases, certain city landmarks have
become no film zones because of this.
It is these locations that make our city
the attractive city it is and losing them
puts us in a very compromising position
when attempting to market Gauteng as
a filming destination. Again, we call
upon the GFC and local government to
facilitate meetings with these industries
to educate them on the need for cooperation
and the benefits of film.
Can Gauteng become a film friendly
city? Yes, on the premise of a strong
economic argument and through
greater liaison between the GFC,
industry and regions. But time is of the
essence. While we drag our heels and
get bogged down in bureaucracy, other
cities are putting plans in place to
capitalise from film. We would be
fools to waste such an incredible
opportunity.
• Gavin Gillespie is an executive producer
with Fresh Eye Films Productions and a
member of the Commercial Producers
Association. The above report by Gillespie
has been edited.
SCREENAFRICA – January 2009