Save SA Film Jobs

Save SA Film Jobs – The mismanagement of the Film and TV Incentive Scheme has left South Africa’s creative economy on life support. The DTIC’s failure to convene adjudication meetings or approve applications has created an economic and human catastrophe: productions have stalled, tens of thousands of workers across the value chain have lost income, and the industry has contracted by close to 50%.

A collapse in investor confidence is now driving major international film projects and billions in foreign currency to competing nations. The DTIC continues to claim that the incentive is “open,” but the reality is stark: there have been no adjudication meetings since March 2024, and a growing backlog of unapproved projects remains, with virtually no new productions receiving the green light.

Under the banner SAVE SA FILM JOBS, South Africa’s film and television industry will once again take to the streets on 28 and 29 January 2026 in Cape Town and Pretoria, demanding urgent reform of the DTIC’s film incentive and an end to the paralysis that has pushed the sector to the brink of collapse.

Background: The February 2025 Protest

Earlier this year, on 27 February 2025, several industry bodies united in protest outside the DTIC’s Pretoria campus, bringing together hundreds of filmmakers, actors, writers, crew members and industry organisations calling for urgent action to fix the collapsing film incentive system. Participants gathered peacefully to deliver a memorandum outlining the sector’s concerns and the immediate steps required to stabilise the industry, including the resumption of adjudication meetings and clarity on delayed payments.

Despite repeated engagements and promises, the Save SA Film Jobs coalition reports that there has been minimal progress. This lack of response has made a renewed national mobilisation in 2026 both necessary and unavoidable.

The Crisis: Entire Ecosystem Under Threat

Before the current crisis, the South African film and television industry was estimated to :

• Employ around 60,000 full-time and freelance workers

• Support more than 100,000 indirect jobs

• Generate between R8–10 billion in annual production value

• Attract approximately R3.8 billion in foreign direct investment

• Provide direct employment to a young workforce — 67% of the workforce is under 35, supporting vital youth employment

But since 2020, the sector has contracted by almost 50% with over hundreds of millions lost in foreign direct investment as a result of the incentive’s poor functioning.

“Our decline is the direct result of a poorly implemented and red-tape-riddled rebate system whose approvals have stalled, and a department that refuses to engage meaningfully with the industry.”

Save SA Film Jobs Coalition

The 2026 marches are being organised by a national coalition of industry bodies, including:

• Animation SA (ASA)

• South African Guild of Actors (SAGA)

• Independent Producers Organisation (IPO)

• Personal Managers’ Association (PMA)

• Writers’ Guild of South Africa (WGSA)

• South African Screen Federation (SASFED)

These organisations represent thousands of workers across the value chain — from producers and financiers to actors, writers, directors, crew, post-production professionals, personal managers and agents.

According to the coalition, the DTIC is not approving applications or convening regular adjudication meetings, preventing both local and international projects from moving into production.

Why This Matters

“When the film incentive fails, it is not just producers who suffer,” the coalition notes. “It impacts the entire ecosystem:”

• Actors who lose roles and income

• Writers whose scripts never go into production

• Directors and heads of department who cannot secure work

• Crew members who live on a project-by-project basis

• Small businesses — from caterers to transport companies — that rely on productions to survive

The coalition warns that the ongoing dysfunction is “destroying one of South Africa’s most promising export industries and a vital creator of youth employment and skills.” Poor management of the incentive is reversing transformational gains and de-industrialising the sector.

The Path Forward

With the right support from the DTIC — and in genuine collaboration with the film and television industry — the sector has the potential not only to recover but to surpass its historic growth trajectory of 15% recorded in the early 2010s. South Africa has already demonstrated its capacity to be a high-growth, globally competitive production hub.

However, the current failures within the incentive system are severely undermining that potential, stalling investment, halting productions and preventing the industry from achieving the scale and economic impact, it is capable of.

As long as the government fails to address this issue, the sector will be robbed of the jobs the country so desperately needs.

Core Demands

Under the banner SAVE SA FILM JOBS — Fix the DTIC Film and TV Incentive, the January 2026 marches call on the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition and DTIC leadership to:

1. Immediately resume adjudication committee meetings and issue approvals on the growing backlog of applications.

2. Reform the film incentive in genuine partnership with industry, through structured working groups.

3. Ensure full transparency and accountability, including:

   • Clear, public statistics on funds allocated and paid out per scheme,

   • Reporting on jobs created and sustained,

   • A transparent methodology for measuring economic impact.

March Details

What: SAVE SA FILM JOBS – National Film & TV Industry March
Tagline: Fix the DTIC Film Incentive

When: 28 & 29 January 2026

• 28 January – Cape Town (Parliament, Cape Town City Centre)

• 29 January – Pretoria (DTIC Head Office, 77 Meintjies Street, Sunnyside)

Time: 10:00 – 14:00
Dress Code: Black (in solidarity)