South Africa risks losing millions of rand in film investment and hundreds of jobs as ongoing problems with the country’s film and television production incentive scheme continue to erode international confidence.
The collapse of the system has already cost the country major productions. The makers of the Paramount+ thriller series The Castaways considered spending about R90 million (US$5.5 million) filming in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) but ultimately chose Greece after financiers lost confidence in South Africa’s rebate system, reports News24.
The series would have injected millions into the provincial economy and created about 80 jobs with much of the spending expected to flow into rural areas of KZN.
Since 2004, South Africa has offered film and television production incentives to attract international and local productions. The programme, administered by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), offers qualifying productions a rebate of between 25% and 35% on local spend up to R25 million (US$1.1 million). The limit used to be R50 million (US$3 million).
For more than a decade, the incentive helped position South Africa as one of the world’s most attractive filming destinations. However, industry stakeholders say delayed payouts and administrative challenges have severely undermined the programme since 2020.
The approval committee for new projects has not met since early 2024, effectively pausing the scheme for two years.
The fallout is already visible across the industry. The third season of the internationally distributed Karoo drama Recipes for Love and Murder is reportedly on hold with producers considering filming in Ireland or Scotland instead due to difficulties accessing the incentive.
Industry confidence shaken
James Byrne, Co-Founder of the International Tourism Film Festival Africa, told Tourism Update that the delayed rebate payments have caused widespread frustration among production companies.
“The DTIC has not paid out rebates. They owe R600 million (US$36.7 million) in back payments to film production companies and that goes back as far as 14-16 years ago so they’ve lost confidence,” Byrne said.
“Production companies spend a lot of money and then they have to wait to get their incentive back when the DTIC decides that they are going to reward them with what is rightfully theirs. The frustration is through the roof.”
He believes the situation has moved beyond a temporary bottleneck.
“I think it is a complete collapse of the scheme because, once production companies have lost confidence, people are reluctant to come back to the country. The fallaway rate of the productions is evidence of that.”
The broader economic impact is significant. Byrne noted that the sector contributed about R8.8 billion (US$540 million) to GDP in the past financial year, which is well below pre-COVID levels.
“Our industry is down about 50% since pre-COVID,” he said.
Productions shifting abroad
With incentives and approvals uncertain, producers are increasingly turning to other destinations.
Byrne said several countries are benefiting from South Africa’s difficulties.
“Morocco has, by far, a fast, reliable rebate system with government support, no BEE-style compliance delays and less admin.”
Other destinations gaining traction include Namibia and Botswana for documentary and stills productions, Kenya and Rwanda for streaming content and Hungary for large-scale studio productions.
“We recently lost a R400 million (US$24.7 million) Netflix production because of this rebate scheme as well as visa issues,” Byrne added.
The Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK are also drawing productions thanks to competitive incentives and predictable tax credits, according to Byrne.
Government working on solutions
The South African government has acknowledged the challenges and says it is working with industry stakeholders to stabilise the programme.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau recently briefed Parliament, saying his department is investigating governance issues related to the incentive scheme and working towards solutions.
At a provincial level, film authorities say they continue to support productions despite the national challenges.
Pinky Radebe, Head of PR and Communications at the KZN Tourism and Film Authority, said the province continues to assist productions with location access, permits and connections to local suppliers and crews.
KZN is also promoted at international film markets and festivals to maintain visibility as a filming destination.
“KZN remains a highly competitive filming destination due to its diverse locations, skilled crews and established production support environment,” Radebe said.
While the province regrets losing projects such as The Castaways, she noted that production decisions are influenced by a range of commercial, logistical and financing considerations that often extend beyond provincial control.
“We continue to engage proactively with producers and studios to position KZN as a preferred filming location and remain committed to attracting productions that contribute to job creation, skills transfer and broader tourism visibility for the province.”
