In the wake of the Cannes Film Festival, Screen Africa got three different
perspectives on the event – one from the point of view of a national government
agency, one from a provincial government level and one from a commercial point
of view.
The Cannes Film Festival, which took place in May, is generally associated with
the glitz and glamour of international stars and the coveted Palme d’Or, but the
majority of activity that takes place off the red carpet is all about the business
and diplomacy of the movie business. For our industry, this is where the success
of the festival should really be measured.
Numerous South African representatives go to Cannes to pursue various
agendas. They range from national government to provincial government to
major corporate entities, to small, independent production companies. The
National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) always has a major presence there
at its South African Pavilion, which it uses to showcase the country’s latest films
and to facilitate the negotiation of distribution and co-production deals. The
recently launched KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission was there this year to
promote the province as a filming location. Exhibition and distribution giant Ster-
Kinekor theatres also attends regularly to assess the lay of the land in terms of
content and technological trends.
“Conquering the world’
For the NFVF, trends at the South African Pavilion seemed to indicate a high
interest in South Africa as a host for festivals and shooting locations, as well as
a co-production partner. “South Africa is in demand. Producers in search of co-
production treaties are eager to work with our filmmakers. This says a lot about
our storytelling, our incentive schemes and other film resources that are
available in the country,’ says NFVF communications manager Naomi Mokhele.
The NFVF deemed the trip to Cannes a success overall, declaring that it
managed to achieve its objectives. “Filmmakers negotiated deals which will bear
fruits in the future; one of them, David Kau, concluded a distribution and co-
production deal. In line with our mandate we also focused on emerging
filmmakers, a new generation of creative talent eager to conquer the world
through their storytelling and collaborations with other countries. Among the
filmmakers, there were five who were identified to be part of the Creative Minds
programme, which took them through intensive producers’ programmes and
networking opportunities. The team was also introduced to ways of conducting
business and navigating the international market. There is an increased
interest, not only in South Africa as a location, but in our stories as well. South
Africa is conquering the world,’ Mokhele concludes.
“Concrete business’
Although approaching the festival with a provincial, rather than national agenda,
the KZN Film Commission concurs with the NFVF’s assessment. “The presence of
a new commission from South Africa attracted a lot of interest and we noted the
growth in the South African presence at the festival, the concrete business
being discussed by the delegation and the new partnerships that the country
seems to be forging,’ says the commission’s chief operations officer, Jackie
Motsepe.
The commission’s first Cannes Festival appears to have been a very busy, but
very successful one. “We had over 50 meetings, which were very valuable,’
Motsepe continues. “We achieved our objectives of meeting sales agents,
producers and festivals, among others. We had a strong presence in the trade
publications that were on the newsstands, with good media coverage, both
local and international. We were also able to have good one-on-one meetings
with the South African delegation of filmmakers that were there from the
different provinces, and this allowed us to inform them of the existence of the
commission, its programme, locations, incentives and the imminent launch of our
film fund. As a result, we look forward to seeing films from international
producers shooting in the province and we also hope to see South African
producers in the various provinces choosing KwaZulu-Natal as their
location.’
Cinema is alive and well
Ster-Kinekor’s objectives in attending Cannes and other, similar industry
gatherings are of course very different to those of government agencies.
Whereas the NFVF and the KZN Film Commission work to promote South Africa’s
output of films, Ster-Kinekor is working on the acquisition of international
product that can be exhibited in South Africa.
“It’s always good to attend these festivals to see what’s hip, what’s
happening,’ says Ster-Kinekor marketing executive Doug Place. “A common
thought a few years ago was that cinema was dying. Is there still room for
cinema when people can watch movies on an iPad? It’s ridiculous, it’s the wrong
question. It’s like saying that restaurants are threatened because supermarket
chains offer pre-cooked meals.’ The developments that Ster-Kinekor staff have
seen at international festivals and trade shows indicate that cinema still remains
as the flagship visual media format and that home cinema, television and
second-screen developments still tend to follow cinema trends.
According to Place, Cannes differs substantially from other trade shows he
attended this year, such as CinemaCon, held in Las Vegas. These shows are
dominated by major studios and large-scale technological and commercial
trends. “Cannes, on the other hand, is a buyer’s market. Yes, major studios do
have a presence there but there is also a massive contingent of independent
producers. The reason Ster-Kinekor goes to Cannes is for content acquisition
mainly. With Cinema Nouveau we have one of the largest dedicated art house
circuits in the world, so we buy a lot of the content at Cannes, be it opera or
foreign language films, or English-language independent product. We did have a
few meetings with some of the big distributors like 20th Century Fox and
Warner but the main reason we go to Cannes is to acquire select content,’
Place says.
“Trends at Cannes are harder to pinpoint than at other international festivals
but very definitely one thing that emerged is that it’s become easier for foreign
language films to play in English-speaking territories because, in digital formats,
subtitling is easier and cheaper than before. French films in particular are now
finding large-scale international audiences for their product. If you look at
something like Intouchables and the audience that it found in South
Africa last year, you can see that trend in action. South African audiences seem
to be growing in terms of their tastes and repertoire because they just have a
greater access to a broader range of films. Ten or 15 years ago, that film would
not have done as well commercially. So that’s something we take into account
now with our content acquisition.’
Although focusing on its aim of content acquisition, the Ster-Kinekor delegation
also made sure to check in on developments at the South African Pavilion and to
help present “a united South Africa’. Place’s observations of events there seem
to echo those of Mokhele and Motsepe. “We are definitely seeing a move
toward more films being shot in South Africa – and not just big event, major
action films. That works well from our point of view as an exhibitor, because it
offers a marketing opportunity on those particular films when they are
released,’ Place concludes.
If the experiences of these three delegations is an accurate reflection of the
state of affairs on the ground, then it certainly seems that international festivals
and other industry gatherings indicate a considerable degree of growth in South
Africa’s status as a film producing country, as a shooting location and as a target
market for foreign cinematic product. These are all vital roles to play in the global
industry. What is less clear, and which would be an essential matter to clarify, is
which of these three areas is seeing the most growth. Are we increasing our
presence as producers of original content, are we still predominantly a service
provider for foreign film crews, or is the largest part of our role in the
international motion picture industry still that of a consumer?
