Why are South Africans not watching South African movies?
It cannot be denied that South Africa has brought forth a number of amazing films and productions. From Tsotsi to Jerusalema, South African films have shook the big screen and have been engraved in our minds. With that being said, why is it that we are not watching South African films and movies anymore?
It can be argued that the golden age of South African film was around the late 90s into the 2000s. In this period a new generation of young actors came to the fore. This era was also heavily motivated by the recent post-apartheid nature of the period. In this period, several writers and directors infused an air of revolution and insurrection within the plot and overall theme of the productions. The characters in these films were developed to be the offspring of exiled or imprisoned freedom fighters and anti-apartheid politicians. This gave heavy depth and substance to the development of the characters as they were deeply indoctrinated. As we know now, indoctrination is the formula for a good movie.
Gangster’s paradise: jerusalema - imbd
Now let’s get specific - An actor who emerged at the forefront during this period was Rapulana Seiphemo (Tau Moroka). One of his most prolific roles was as Lucky Kunene of Gangsters Paradise: Jerusalema. Here he is a petty criminal sucking society dry until he decides to organize and marshal a criminal empire directed at taking wealth out of white hands. He comes from a poor background with many relatives and children in his care. This poverty was a consequence of apartheid and the inclination to take from white people is indoctrination.
An indoctrination that was a long time in the making based on the company he was keeping throughout his criminal career and his intellect leading him in the direction of Pan-Africanist patriotism. This line of thinking may not be the leading plot in the film and may have holes in it, but it is heavily prevalent in the movie and is also a major contributing factor to the overall quality of the film.
Gangster’s paradise: jerusalema - imbd
The residue of freedom from apartheid oozed into the cinema. With it came outstanding films performed by outstanding actors. Some movies support the line of thought iterated above. From Tsotsi to Hijack Stories and Sarafina, the immature freedom South Africa had was prevalent on the big screen. Was this the reason South African movies were genuinely being watched by South Africans? Actors of the era became full-fledged household names. The likes of Kenneth Nkosi, Vusi Kunene, Menzi Ngubane, and Themba Ndaba became icons of South African cinema and household names because of the extent to which South Africans were watching South African movies. What was the reason for this? I could again hypothesize that it was based on the air and atmosphere of the period, but is this truly the reason? or were the stories just told better back then? Was the acting better? Did writers merely have better ideas back then? Or was it the lack of Netflix, Showmax, and Amazon Plus?
According to memeburn.com the 24 movies released last year accumulated 24 million. Comparatively speaking, Despicable Me 3 made 46 million in South African cinema on its own. Fast and Furious 8 made 72 million. These statistics make it clear that South Africans are not watching South African movies and films. A fundamental reason for this status quo is the fact that South African movies and films are not shown in as many cinemas. The number of screens on which a movie is played is decided by distributors and buyers. When the filming of a movie is complete, the producers of the movie sell or lease the films to distributors who then work in tandem with buyers such as Nu Metro and Sterkenikor to decide how many prints of the movie to sell.
sarafina! (1992) - photo gallery - imbd
Another contributing factor to the lack of viewership in terms of South African films is the lack of budget for filmmakers. For a while, South African actors have been subjugated to slapstick comedy roles in movies such as Paradise Stop and anything by Leon Schuster. This is because making movies like this is affordable. South African minds probably do have Tarantino-level plots but funding for such endeavours is problematic.
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