The Film Industry Learner Mentorship programme (F.I.LM.), which has placed trainees on major international productions shot in South Africa such as Safe House, Invictus, Dark Tide and Chronicle, has received a formal pat on the back from parliament for training and empowerment.
A section 21 non-profit skills and development facilitator, F.I.L.M. provides previously disadvantaged people with skills and employment in the film, electronic and digital media industries. In addition F.I.L.M was recognised at last year’s ITV Conference in Geneva for mobile content generation in a non-for-profit digital innovation competition.
The initiative was created in 2008 by David Wicht of Film Afrika and Quentin Fredericks of Pitch Black.
F.I.LM. project director Seton Bailey explains the objectives: “We aim to provide disadvantaged people (but not exclusively) with unit standard-aligned skills development and mentorship. This comprises hands-on experimental learning, employment, career advancement and social enterprise opportunities in the film industry.’
The programme has a database of over 250 people F.I.L.M. has partnered with leading production companies like Moonlighting Filmmakers, DO Productions, Two Oceans Production and Film Afrika, to name a few, under mentors on local and international film and TV series.
Bailey continues: “We aim to assist trainees to overcome traditional barriers to entry into the industry and create learning and earning content generation hubs and micro-enterprises. At the same time young people are trained to tell and sell South African stories locally and abroad.’
Recruitment
He says that the programme operates by advertising for trainees in trade publications, newspapers and online. “We recruit trainees widely in this way and, although we have done virtually no marketing until recently, word of mouth is without a doubt the most powerful trainee recruitment tool.
“On local and international productions mentors are selected based on the head of department (HOD) in the skills set in which trainees are required (and most likely) to benefit from the experience.’
In the past some of the mentors included industry icons such as Santiago Quinones – location manager Safe House; Eamon Fitzpatrick – international line producer; Antonio Paladino – international commercials director; Oliver Hermanus – director and producer; Cliff Bestall – Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker; David Wicht – director and producer; Vlokkie Gordon – line producer; Michael Buckley – DOP; Tom Hannan – art director; Brigid Olen – producer; and Sello Twala – director and producer.
Funding
Bailey explains how the programme operates and is funded: “Despite the fact that it is not yet a Department of Trade & Industry rebate requirement for long form production companies to achieve Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) level 5, F.I.L.M. assists parent companies and special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and is remunerated through a skills development fringe on each SPV production. The major portion of this goes to the trainee remuneration on the production and a small percentage goes to F.I.L.M. for admin and running costs.
“We are also a skills development facilitator for dozens of long form and commercial companies and suppliers to the industry for which we are remunerated. F.I.L.M receives admin fees from discretionary grants it receives from the Sector Education Training Authorities (Setas); we also train people for which we are remunerated.’
Bailey maintains that the programme has gone a long way in terms of addressing the skills shortage and much needed transformation in the industry. “Many of our trainees are now full-time crew in the marketplace and produce their own productions. We don’t focus on Oscar winners or on awards, we just want people to follow their talent, be gainfully employed, achieve career fulfillment and hopefully develop their own production companies.’
Tough industry
A big challenge for F.I.L.M is that the industry is hard to break into. Bailey elaborates: “It is quite a closed sector with a traditionally fairly wealthy freelance industry. But we are little by little contributing in our own small way to the broader transformation of the industry in providing a vital bridge for opportunity in a supportive environment. We are also getting more and more ADFA, UCT, CPUT and other tertiary institution graduates coming onto the programme to gain hands-on experience.’
One of the most successful trainees to come onto the programme is Patrick Vrieslaar who has worked on Chronicle and Safe House, which were both shot in Cape Town.
“Patrick worked as grip assistant on Safe House and spark trainee on Chronicle and is an incredibly hard worker,’ explains Bailey. “This industry is tough and one has to be self-disciplined and be on stand-by for hours on end. Patrick does all that with no complaint. He just loves the industry and is currently working on Mad Dogs 3 with his mentor, John McKay.’
Bailey has long been committed to the industry and started out in the mid-1980s working in marketing and communications.
“I decided early on in 2000 to dedicate my time to social development in the film industry because it was increasingly apparent to me that unless we did something about transformation and creating a sustainable industry, it would not happen on its own. So I got involved in the programme and am fundamentally responsible for strategic planning, operational implementation and development and maintaining relationships with film partners.’
By Karen van Schalkwyk
Screen Africa Magazine March 2012
