How South Africa Rescued Its Rebate and Pulled the Industry Back From the Brink: We’re ‘Back in Business’

The long nightmare might be over for South African producers, whose industry has been crippled for more than two years by the paralysis of a rebate program that for all intents and purposes had ceased to function.

Speaking this week at the Durban FilmMart, Nelly Molokoane, director of film and television production at the Dept. of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), insisted that the government body tasked with administering the country’s 25% cash rebate has finally turned a corner. “The department is back in business,” Molokoane said.

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After months of political pressure from industry bodies that rallied under the banner of the Save SA Film and TV Jobs Coalition, the DTIC is now working through a backlog of applications and rebate claims dating back to 2024, with Molokoane counseling patience as the embattled department attempts to right the ship.

“We know that the industry now is bleeding, but we are doing our best,” she said.

The news sparked a collective sigh of relief from the filmmakers and industry groups gathered in Durban, who have locked horns with South African officials over delays in processing rebate claims, bureaucratic bottlenecks, a lack of transparency from their counterparts in government, and overall questions about the future of the once-thriving incentive program.

“The worst is over,” said producer Delon Bakker, who serves as chairperson of the Independent Producers Organization. “We’re very confident that we’re now moving in the right direction. We’re not sure at what pace, but we are definitely making progress.”

The crisis dealt a devastating blow to a South African industry that was already feeling the squeeze, with the exhibition sector floundering, global streaming networks scaling back their investments in local production and domestic broadcasters — including the struggling public broadcaster, SABC — unable to keep the industry afloat.

“We’re talking thousands of jobs. We’re talking hundreds of companies that have suffered losses because of this. We’re talking projects that have made claims that have not been paid two, three, four years later,” said producer Paul Buys, of Rose and Oaks Media. “It’s really pushed everybody to the limits.”

The DTIC has made significant strides in paying off most of the nearly 2-billion-rand ($121 million) backlog in unpaid rebate claims and shored up roughly 1.5 billion rand ($91 million) to fund the rebate through 2029.

While those producers who spoke to Variety were cautiously optimistic that the industry has finally turned the page, there remains much work to be done. Chief among their concerns is what shape the incentive program will take moving forward, whether it’s a modified version of the existing cash rebate program, a tax credit scheme, or some alternate proposal.

Still, after months of often contentious dialogue with government officials, local producers are grateful that both sides have found a way through the impasse. “Ultimately, everyone wants this to work, and ultimately, we want to work with the department,” said Bakker. “We want peace. We want a period of prosperity.”

For her part, the polarizing Molokoane — who has faced calls for her resignation from industry bodies — struck a conciliatory tone in Durban.

“We’ve been engaging the industry since last year to say, ‘How best can we support this industry?’ And I know maybe the industry has been informed that the DTIC is not on board,” she said. “We are on board…. We would like to work with you in order to ensure that we’ve got a sustainable industry.”

For now, local producers are guardedly optimistic that such political goodwill will last, while their foreign counterparts will look for reassurances that the rebate is back on solid footing. “It’s going to take some time to get that certainty back…and build trust internationally,” said Big World Cinema producer Steven Markovitz.

In spite of the challenges, South African filmmakers say the rebate crisis has been a wake-up call that has not only galvanized the industry but bolstered their resolve to build a sustainable film and TV business — with or without a functioning incentive program.

“There’s a willingness to try and do things in this crisis,” said Markovitz. “I do think that we’re going to come out of it looking at other ways to try and break that dependency on DTI subsidies for every film that we do.”

“These obstacles and challenges constantly force us to rethink different ways to do things and different ways to still get our films made and our stories told,” added Yellowbone Entertainment’s Layla Swart. “And I think despite everything, that’s always what we do. We’re fighters and we’re constantly advocating for the things that work with us.”

The Durban FilmMart runs Oct. 9 – 12 in Durban, South Africa.