What is the South African Film and Television Production Incentive?
This program aims to develop the film industry and attract film producers to the country. The grant is calculated as a percentage of the local production expenses and varies between 25% and 35% for SA Film and Television Productions expenditure from R2,5m and to Foreign-owned Productions with SA production expenditure from R12m. The South African Film and Television Production Incentive is capped at R20m for South African productions and is uncapped for foreign owned productions, set at a minimum 20% of qualifying South African production expenditure.
The Incentive provides an incentive of thirty-five percent (35%) of Qualifying South African Production Expenditure (QSAPE).
- An additional five percent (5%) of QSAPE is provided for productions hiring at least thirty percent (30%) of Black South African citizens as head of departments (HODs) and procuring at least thirty percent (30%) of the QSAPE from fifty-one percent (51%) South African black-owned entities which have been operating for at least a period of one (1) year;
The incentive programme offers a reimbursable grant to the maximum of R50 million per qualifying project.
Incentive Disbursement
The incentive is disbursed either upon completion of production or in milestone payments.
The applicant wishing to make use of the milestone payment method must acquire a completion bond. The following will apply:
• seventy percent (70%) of the cost of the completion bond will be subsidised for productions between R1.5 million and R6 million;
• fifty percent (50%) of the cost of the completion bond will be subsidised for productions between R6 million and R10 million;
• productions over R10 million are required by financiers to have a completion bond in place and therefore no additional subsidy will be granted.
