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City launches one-stop portal for film industry
11 November 2018
The City of Cape Town is excited to announce that the Film Cape Town website is now live, and aims to demonstrate our commitment to growing a sustainable film and media industry in Cape Town.
As a joint initiative between the City and the Cape Town film and media industry, Film Cape Town is aimed at promoting the city as the premier film and media destination while also providing prospective clients with tools to make their production in Cape Town a success.
The new Film Cape Town website is an online platform designed to showcase the city’s amazing locations, diverse talent pool and world-class infrastructure that contributes to a thriving and sustainable industry.
The easy-to-navigate website provides filmmakers, producers, animators and service industry entrepreneurs with a one-stop portal for online permit applications, access to first-class services and information on the most skilled technicians in the industry.
Film Cape Town is geared towards the creation of a flourishing and resilient industry, boosting the city’s economy and ensuring that Cape Town cements its place as the film and media hub of Africa.
A key priority for Film Cape Town is to create a fully transformed industry that celebrates and makes the most of the incredible diversity that the city boasts. This means creating jobs and opportunities for all of the city’s residents and drawing on Cape Town’s diverse mix of cultures and communities.
‘Cutting red tape is key for government to encourage investment and job creation, and this new online film portal is a demonstration of just how we are making it easier to do business in Cape Town. I know that Cape Town’s film industry brings teams from all over the world and creates thousands of jobs for local talent. It is no longer business as usual for this sector, therefore the launch of the one-stop shop for the industry is a game changer. So, I look forward to seeing this industry growing and playing a key role in Cape Town’s economy,’ said Executive Mayor Dan Plato.
The City believes that the film and media industry provides a platform to unearth, develop and share local stories which is a powerful driver of social cohesion and cultural understanding.
‘The CTIFMF believes that the City’s commitment to the industry is pivotal to help grow the market. This new portal should provide a central source of information giving both local and foreign filmmakers wider access to the industry which will impact our economy positively. We would encourage our fellow filmmakers to utilise this resource and marketing tool to build their own visibility and offering locally and globally,’ said the chairperson of the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival, Rafiq Samsodien says.
‘The new Film Cape Town website is an exciting and valuable initiative by the City which will provide a unified portal to the offerings of the local industry for the first time. We are currently hosting 6 major international shows, as well as two local film productions, at the studios. Productions hosted by CTFS during the last 8 years have employed over 80 000 people with an economic impact of over R15 billion to the economy,’ said Nico Dekker, CEO of Cape Town Film Studios.
‘As stakeholders in the local film, television and commercial industry, we at the Callsheet are extremely pleased at the way in which the City has worked to facilitate the sector. As Africa’s leading film industry publication, we are committed to promoting and assisting in the growth of the film and media industry, and we believe that the Film Cape Town initiative is a great start for the fostering of better local and international partnerships,’ said Lance Gibbons, publishing editor of The Callsheet.
In addition, Cape Town’s film and media is a catalytic industry that boosts the economy and acts as a catalyst for many other related businesses, including car hire, hospitality, tourism and catering which translates into economic growth and job opportunities for residents.
In support of the Film Cape Town initiative, the City has also frozen the film tariffs for the 2018/19 season and committed to cutting red tape and doing everything it can to roll out the red carpet for both local and international film business.
About the film industry
According to a recent study, the Cape Town film and media sector contributed approximately R3,5 billion to local coffers in 2015 and created over 9 500 direct and indirect job opportunities in the process. The top three contributors were television productions at R878 m, commercials at R584 m, and feature films at R500 m, followed by stills production at R291 m, documentaries at R188 m, short films at R72 m, animation at R76 m and gaming at R44 m. The city is the animation and gaming hub with around 60% of South Africa’s gaming and animation industry being based in Cape Town (Source: Grant Thornton Film and Media Study 2015).
Visit the Film Cape Town website for more info.
