078/06
24 May 2006
UK Film Industry Joins Forces With South Africa
A deal that will enable the UK and South African film industries to work together to create top class cinema was today signed by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and South African Culture Minister Pallo Jordan.
Under the new co-production treaty, filmmakers from both countries will pool their resources to create films that will benefit both countries financially and culturally.
Since 1986 the film industry in South Africa has produced 78 feature films, including Tsotsi, Drum, Hotel Rwanda, Red Dust and Yesterday. In 2005/2006 the industry produced 17 feature films with combined box office earnings of around £4.2 million (50 million rand).
The agreement will encourage South African filmmakers to invest in UK talent and locations. In return they will benefit from UK film making expertise. The resulting films could be eligible for UK film tax incentives, which are designed to encourage investment in our domestic industry.
The agreement is part of a wider drive by the UK Government to create a new set of fit-for-purpose co-production agreements. This includes updating existing agreements and forging new partnerships.
Tessa Jowell said:
"The pooling of talent, expertise and finance through co-productions is increasingly important in modern film making. This agreement is part of that picture and comes at an encouraging time for both countries' film industries.
"British film is in good shape as demonstrated by the indelible footprint of directors like Ken Loach and Andrea Arnold on the Croisette in Cannes this year. South African cinema is also going from strength to strength, as exemplified by the recent success of Tsotsi and Hotel Rwanda. But there is much we can learn from and share with each other.
"By working more closely together, I am confident we will produce top class films that have a real standing and impact on the global stage. This will in turn produce genuine cultural and financial benefits for both countries."
Pallo Jordan said:
"This marks an important milestone in cementing and redefining relations between the two countries as we have a long history. We have no doubt that this will strengthen indigenous African film which is increasingly gaining a foothold in the international market.
"Over the last few years South African film has garnered various awards at international festivals, confirming our convictions that our artists have something unique to offer the world. We are convinced that a partnership with the calibre of talent that comes from the UK will further enhance our home-grown talent in terms of skills, expertise and stature, especially among the youth.
"There is much that South Africa has to offer as it is a 'world in one country' with some of the best facilities and scenery in the world.
"This partnership will result in the rise of film-making which will both resonate in the heart of humankind through stories that reveal the triumph of the human spirit.
"Indigenous African film has gained a foothold and is thus destined to take its rightful place in the global market place and thus contribute to spreading the spirit of hope, contribute to economic growth and creating opportunities for self-reliance among our artists."
Notes to Editors
1. Tessa Jowell and Pallo Jordan signed the co-production agreement at the Foreign Office in London as part of the South Africa / UK Bi National.
2. Co-production agreements aim to secure increased inward investment for the UK and encourage cultural cross-fertilisation. The agreements enable films made jointly by UK producers and their counterparts in other countries to qualify as films with "national" status in both the UK and the other country, meaning that they may be eligible for any national incentives.
3. Whilst the agreement sets in place criteria for films to be certified as British, approval as a British Film under the co-production agreement is not an automatic approval for benefits available to British films including tax relief.
4. The new treaty will come into force only once both UK and South African Governments have ratified it.
5. In 2004 and 2005, the DCMS, in consultation with the UK Film Council and the UK film industry, undertook a comprehensive 18 month review of its co-production treaties. As a result of this review, Tessa Jowell announced on 28 February 2005 the UK's intention to develop a new package of bi-lateral co-production agreements, which deliver maximum economic and/or cultural benefits to the UK. DCMS propose to establish new co-production agreements with India, China, Jamaica and Morocco, and re-negotiate existing agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France.
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