The imminent screening of the new look Generations TV series, which has been off the air since its producer fired the cast last month, should sound an ominous knell for every black creative in South Africa.
The 16 fired actors held talks at the CCMA last week with MMSV, the production house owned by Mfundi Vundla who axed the actors after they went on strike for residual payments (which they should have been getting all along), and for three year contracts (which had been promised to them by the SABC).
The SABC should insist that this clause be included in all contracts used by producers making shows for the SABC, until such time as a new contract can be negotiated.
There are current negotiations, but the Generations Actors Guild and Creative Workers Union of South Africa are not represented in these – only the SABC, producers and the newer South African Guild of Actors, which does not represent the Generations actors.
The mass dismissal by Vundla is something that used to happen in Hollywood in the 1920s – almost 100 years ago. So Vundla’s refusal to pay residuals is almost one century out of touch with modern thinking. That he was willing to fire the actors who went on strike and take the show off the air – with the SABC’s blessing – is another huge problem.
The draconian move has cost the cash-strapped public broadcaster money, according to media reports which indicate that the show temporarily replacing Generations is earning 40% less money for the public broadcaster because it has far fewer viewers and so cannot charge as much for TV commercials during the ad breaks.
It is a losing situation for everyone except Vundla, who is taking the opportunity not only to cling onto 100% of the profits, but to replace the assertive, experienced actors with a much younger cast. “Going younger” is an old producers’ trick done, not to give a show a fresh look, but to hire newer, less confident actors who can be paid far less. These younger actors, generally, are likely to be so thrilled to have landed a regular acting job on a major TV series that they will accept more onerous conditions in their contracts than established actors.
This sad chain of events has happened because there is no consistent government plan to make sure black South African creatives flourish. There are ad hoc approaches to different aspects of the industry with no visible common thread to bind the screen industry together.
For example, there needs to be a government plan to nurture aspirant black filmmakers who have no money at all. The department of trade and industry (DTI) recently launched a R1-million South African emerging black filmmakers incentive programme, which offers a 50% rebate to black filmmakers who make films on a budget of R1-million. The catch is that these filmmakers are not allowed to raise the entire R1-million through public funding bodies, but have to use at least R200000 of their own money, or find a private investor to cough up this sum.
Given that a R1-million budget film may never make any money on the market, even though it tells an important story, even filmmakers with prior experience in making no budget or low budget productions may find it very difficult to raise R200000 through a private investor.
This is also a large sum of money, which is not easily “crowd funded” through donations from friends, family or supporters.
Government could make the argument that filmmakers with no money at all are already supported by the National Film and Video Foundation. However, this funding is limited, therefore hotly contested and is given to filmmakers of all races.
It has become a cliché of sorts to blame the government for everything, but the governance of our screen industry is inconsistent at best, and chaotic at worst. It makes no sense for the DTI to be coming up with new plans to support black filmmakers, while leaving others out in the cold. At the same time, the SABC's endorsement of the heavy handed axing of some of the country’s best known black actors further undermines the advancement of creative black South Africans.
Anna Majavu is a writer concentrating on issues such as the rights of workers, oppressed people and anti-militarism. This article is from the South African Civil Society Information Service
Dice loaded against black actors and filmmakers
The 16 fired actors held talks at the CCMA last week with MMSV, the production house owned by Mfundi Vundla who axed the actors after they went on strike for residual payments (which they should have been getting all along), and for three year contracts (which had been promised to them by the SABC).
The SABC should insist that this clause be included in all contracts used by producers making shows for the SABC, until such time as a new contract can be negotiated.
There are current negotiations, but the Generations Actors Guild and Creative Workers Union of South Africa are not represented in these – only the SABC, producers and the newer South African Guild of Actors, which does not represent the Generations actors.
The mass dismissal by Vundla is something that used to happen in Hollywood in the 1920s – almost 100 years ago. So Vundla’s refusal to pay residuals is almost one century out of touch with modern thinking. That he was willing to fire the actors who went on strike and take the show off the air – with the SABC’s blessing – is another huge problem.
The draconian move has cost the cash-strapped public broadcaster money, according to media reports which indicate that the show temporarily replacing Generations is earning 40% less money for the public broadcaster because it has far fewer viewers and so cannot charge as much for TV commercials during the ad breaks.
It is a losing situation for everyone except Vundla, who is taking the opportunity not only to cling onto 100% of the profits, but to replace the assertive, experienced actors with a much younger cast. “Going younger” is an old producers’ trick done, not to give a show a fresh look, but to hire newer, less confident actors who can be paid far less. These younger actors, generally, are likely to be so thrilled to have landed a regular acting job on a major TV series that they will accept more onerous conditions in their contracts than established actors.
This sad chain of events has happened because there is no consistent government plan to make sure black South African creatives flourish. There are ad hoc approaches to different aspects of the industry with no visible common thread to bind the screen industry together.
For example, there needs to be a government plan to nurture aspirant black filmmakers who have no money at all. The department of trade and industry (DTI) recently launched a R1-million South African emerging black filmmakers incentive programme, which offers a 50% rebate to black filmmakers who make films on a budget of R1-million. The catch is that these filmmakers are not allowed to raise the entire R1-million through public funding bodies, but have to use at least R200000 of their own money, or find a private investor to cough up this sum.
Given that a R1-million budget film may never make any money on the market, even though it tells an important story, even filmmakers with prior experience in making no budget or low budget productions may find it very difficult to raise R200000 through a private investor.
This is also a large sum of money, which is not easily “crowd funded” through donations from friends, family or supporters.
Government could make the argument that filmmakers with no money at all are already supported by the National Film and Video Foundation. However, this funding is limited, therefore hotly contested and is given to filmmakers of all races.
It has become a cliché of sorts to blame the government for everything, but the governance of our screen industry is inconsistent at best, and chaotic at worst. It makes no sense for the DTI to be coming up with new plans to support black filmmakers, while leaving others out in the cold. At the same time, the SABC's endorsement of the heavy handed axing of some of the country’s best known black actors further undermines the advancement of creative black South Africans.
Anna Majavu is a writer concentrating on issues such as the rights of workers, oppressed people and anti-militarism. This article is from the South African Civil Society Information Service
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