The Commercial Producers Association (CPA) of South Africa and the South African Association of Stills Producers (SAASP) have resigned their seats on the board of the Cape Film Commission (CFC), as well as their membership, in protest against “the mismanagement of the CFC and its shoddy treatment of the industry”.
Both organisations have expressed a unanimous vote of no confidence in the CFC CEO and board.
The reasons for the resignations were tabled at a CFC board meeting held on Wednesday last week. They include: the CFC’s refusal to take up matters which adversely affect the industry in favour of costly events and unnecessary international marketing trips; the Commission’s history of mismanagement, poor corporate governance and compliance; the Commission’s role as a gatekeeper rather than an enabler of the industry and recent moves by the board and CEO to silence the industry’s voice by implementing spurious protocols which prevent accountability and transparency.
According to industry representatives, the CPA and SAASP have been trying for years to engage with the CFC to deal with problems facing the industry with very limited success. The industry’s vote of no confidence has come as a result of a strong culture of denial and self promotion that exists within the Commission which has severely compromised the sustainability of the industry which has been identified as one of the key economic growth drivers in the province.
Says resigning board member, Gavin Levy of SAASP: “I accepted nomination to the board in the belief that I could add value to the Commission by sharing my 23 years of experience with the board, and give hands-on and effective input on the challenges facing industry. My experience has shown me that I can add very little value to the Commission and that my time would be better and more constructively spent on industry’s behalf without the prohibitive hackles of a Commission with is uncommunicative and non-responsive to industry”.
According to Skip Margetts who has occupied the CPA’s seat on the CFC’s board for over two years, every recommendation he made to improve the situation has been rejected by the Commission’s CEO but supported in direct consultations with the City.
CPA Chairperson, Peter Carr concurs: “Instead of promoting the industry, the Commission’s actions are placing its future in jeopardy and that is something we simply cannot continue to ignore or accept.”
The CFC is a jointly funded agency of the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government of the Western Cape that is mandated to promote and develop the film sector in the region and has an operating budget of around R10m per year.
The CPA represents 45 production companies with a collective annual turnover of R1bn per year, while the SAASP has a membership of 30 companies and generates over R500m per annum in foreign investment in Cape Town alone. The two organisations represent around 70% of the economically active film production sector in the Western Cape and the interests of both local and international multinationals and advertising agencies.
A few hours after the CPA released its statement, CFC CEO Denis Lillie released this statement:
“The Cape Film Commission is committed to promoting the broad interests of our Members both locally and internationally. As you are aware, we are supported by the Provincial Government of the Western Cape and The City of Cape Town. We have also established relationships with the NFVF, DTI, Department of Arts and Culture, the Guateng Film Commission, others within South Africa and many international Film Commissions and Councils.
“This support from Local and Provincial Government also means that we receive additional support from other organisations including WESGRO, CTRU and CTT.
“You may have read in my latest Newsletter that the CPA and SAASP recently resigned their seats on the Board of the CFC.
“Both the Province and City have asked me to communicate with you directly that these resignations will not impact on the CFC promoting the Stills and Commercials industries as part of our mandate. There are many of you operating in these two sectors of the industry outside of the resigned organisations.
“Following some queries from Members it was felt that we should communicate with you all directly this message to avoid any confusion.
“The CFC will continue to promote these sectors and all other Film related sectors through Trade Missions, Film Festivals and other events.
We will also ensure that there is a voice through the WESGRO Trade Missions and other planned interactions as part of our strategy moving forward.
“Please contact Mark Visser on mark@capefilmcommission.co.za if you have any queries or seek further clarification on the above statement.”
