Authentic South Africa Film??? Is there such thing?

It’s been a while, my baaad but boi do I have a lot to blog about. Fasten your seatbelts homies, Leggo!

I recently worked (coordinated) on a local feature (first time). I usually work on commercials and service for international production companies, so this was my first local feature film which has a very good chance of coming out on the South African circuit. As excited as I was to finally be a part of a local production, a couple of topics came up which made me question our local film industry.

 In a discussion about the industry a colleague made the following statements:  "Ya hey, you know the South African Film industry is doing very well.” He then takes it a step further and says especially the Afrikaans industry (and well if you haven't guessed it yet, he is Afrikaans). And it ends it off by saying that "We could do better, but as South Africans we are cheap, and that's why the industry is doing so poorly because if we had money we would be able to make more and better films." Wellll 'coughs'.................. let’s take a closer look at what he said.

[Ok before I get attacked at the end of this blog, let’s clear up some definitions. When I say South Africans, I mean all you motherfuckers, black people, poor people, white people, Indians, coloured people, rich people everybody who identifies themselves as a South African citizen.]

Many many people have a much glamorized idea about the film industry and in all honesty know very little about industry, especially the South Africa film industry. 90% of the time, the most successful and big name films produced/'made' in SA are for foreign countries, e.g. Blood Diamond, Invictus, Safehouse ect. The crew is South African, not the director or the producer and in most cases not the lead actors. We only service the international film production companies as a service based production house. Therefore the amount of creative input we actually put in as SA crew is minimal, we are not creating for ourselves and our people, but we are servicing and assisting in producing films/commercials that often don’t even make our televisions or South African circuit. Let’s take a closer look at what we would define as South African film. Therefore if you are a fresh film graduate who is dying to work in the industry (in South Africa) after you graduate, all I can say is I hope you know how to make good coffee, can carry sandbags and realize that your opinion on this big budget film has the same value of your weekly salary...............But if you still want to be a filmmaker I urge you to read on and be that change.

What really annoys me is that people are so quick to jump on the support train and say 'Oh I love SA movies, Oh we are doing so well.' Define WELL? We made only one Oscar winning film 'Tsotsi' and in all honesty that was never or truly a South African film but rather a black South African film. Before its’ Oscar success we saw it as yet another 'black inexpensive film about the township’ a snooze film. (or am I wrong?). It was only once it became recognised by internationals as a South African film that we all came together and acknowledged it as a representation of a South African film. Ha! Truth is whether we like to deal with it or not, we are still in Post Apartheid and so is our filmmaking. We are still in a country that has a damaged mindset of oppression and segregation. Though it bores us to see yet another South African film about apartheid or makes reference to apartheid it is sadly the only thing that we as a nation can identify and relate to. Thus we cannot simply make a film about a boy meets girl, they fall in love happily ever after (insert light humour, romance, drama and conflict). Even something that simple is too complex for us as an audience to dissect and truly appreciate. The Afrikaans film industry however is like country music in the states, it unfortunately caters to a certain market and that market is huge and purchases with ease, therefore we can look at the ratings for its acclaimed success. Not saying that Black films aren’t doing well, but in my opinion better in Television. Our country being one of the most diverse countries in the world, makes a film very difficult to reach all the markets but not impossible. This is important, it is not impossible to reach the whole nation. This bring me to the point that all of these markets are categorised by race and culture, i.e. black people are less likely watch an Afrikaans film and Afrikaans audiences are less likely to watch a black film (for many reasons I don’t even have to mention). Yet when we win an Oscar for a 'black film' we call it South African and then we all of a sudden support South African films................riiiiiight. *side eyes*

Going back to the local film I worked on, the amount of complete disrespect I experience on this film was mind blowing, I wondered why. This has never happened on any of the international productions I’ve been on. This brings me to another debate I had earlier this year. Basically the debate we had was the typical Cape Town vs. Joburg debate. I said that Cape Town is better because we are the friendly city (true), he then responded by saying that we are indeed friendly but not to each other as south Africans. We are friendly (at times unnaturally overly friendly) to Foreigners but we are not friendly to our fellow South Africans. We become clicky and exclude outsiders by showing them little respect (Though I didn’t want to believe it at first). He made a point we don’t respect or support each other (South Africans). We don’t respect each other as local crew or local filmmakers but let it just be an international involved we think twice about the way we act. Why is it that we need international approval to determine our quality and success in filmmaking? Why can we not value each other as creators? Why do we need Hollywood to tell us that our local filmmakers (Tstotsi) and actors are talented?  Our constant need of approval from foreigners is actually what is keeping us behind. We would have been further as a nation if we supported our industry before the internationals did.

We simply cannot compare ourselves to American Films or even European film, we cannot make a film as easily entertaining as they do because we as a nation have not come together to indentify ourselves as South Africans in film. We still look at film by race, e.g. Tstosi - Black Film, Material - Indian Film, White Wedding - Black Film, Skoonheid - White Film. (Please note that I am only using the most popular films made). What can we identify as Authentic South African Film?...................... you see we can’t, the truth is that we (especially my generation) have grown up with American TV and American and European Film. We are part of an American era. American filmmakers grew up with American films and went on to study it and now make it. This equation is pretty simple right? However we cannot even mildly compare ourselves to this, we grew up with a very segregated mind and a heavy influence of an American style of filmmaking. This is form of definition of who were as filmmakers.

Like many of my colleagues and fellow film makers, I wanted to become a filmmaker because of what I saw, I watched a film (American) was blown away and then I decided that that’s what I want to do, I want to make films. Yet I want to be a South African Filmmaker, the reality is what the fuck I really know about South African Filmmaking. Absolutely nothing.  I did not grow up with South African Films and the South African films that are out are did not inspired me to begin with. In all honestly what do I really know about making an authentic SA film. There is no such thing, is there? I am quick to call myself a South African Filmmaker but what is authentic about the films I want to make, if all I really know is American film. This is the harsh reality of South African Filmmaking, even in varsity I learned about South African Films but my degree was based on American and European filmmaking. We as filmmakers must make a film based on what we know, which would be a film with lots of American influence and well let’s say a South African twist or take on it. *Kanye shrugs*

The South African audience are so critical with South African Films with the same remarks; saying it’s cheap, the quality is kak, acting is kak ect. We as the audience often don’t want to pay to watch a local film, yet at the same time we are quick to say we support SA film. Forgetting to mention that we won’t attended if film screening was no more that R25, but let a shit movie from the states come out and we are quick to pay up R 48.  If our filmmaking is so kak, then we are comparing it something good being what? Hollywood??? Again, this is Africa bitch c’mon give me a better reason for your 'critic'. We want our films to have to same quality and value of an American film before we take notice, we are comparing ourselves to something that has absolutely no comparisons to each other. Even if money was a factor here to improve our ‘quality’ of filmmaking. We don’t need a big budget film to create a quality film, we need to define what is quality for South Africa first. Therefore money is not necessarily quality in this case.

It all comes down to this, the TRUTH, we have two choices. We can either accept that we have been Americanized and that our filmmaking will be done in an American style with elements of South African characteristics within it. Therefore the films we create will be compared to America,  allowing all critique as we are competing with the giants in hopes to be successful on their level. By accepting that we have been Americanized it showcases that this forms as a part of who we are. Authentic is what’s real and being Americanised is the reality of our lives. We will then strive to create South African film with an American Standard in mind. The second option we have is to decide that we are going to stop the Americanization by cutting out American Films and focusing on creating authentic films and teaching our youth of who we are as a nation and what we stand for when it comes to filmmaking. Attempting to create films by having no to very little influence from outside. To ensure that we make authentic South African films, so that when the country and future filmmakers can identify themselves in the films and will be inspired to join the industry to create films of a South African nature. Whether the world takes recognition is irrelevant as this  will not define us, because our success is local, we are creating films for south Africans about south Africans. Then we can proudly say we support south  African films without any ill informed prejudices.

We just need to think twice before we critize a film saying that it is trying to be American, but simultaneously turning around to critise at the attempt to create an authentic film saying once again it is cheap, shit quality and well not Hollywood enough to appeal to you. We need to define ourselves as South Africans before we can cristise our artists in creating. So next time you hear a South African film being shown, for fuck sakes, shut the fuck up if you have not seen it. And if you did see it, think carefully before you critize and think about where your critique is really coming from.