Big guns quit film commission

Two of the film industry’s leading trade associations have quit the province’s Film Commission in protest against “mismanagement” and “shoddy” treatment.

The Commercial Producers Association and the South African Association of Stills Producers voiced a unanimous vote of no confidence in the commission’s newly appointed chief executive officer, Denis Lillie, and his board.

The Commercial Producers Association represents 45 production companies which bring a total of R1 billion into the province a year. The Association of Stills Producers has a membership of 30 companies and generates over R500 million a year in foreign investment in Cape Town alone.

Their move comes as the City of Cape Town’s head of department for Events and Filming, Terence Isaacs, has been suspended for a month, leaving a void in the office ahead of major events like the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour on March 13.

Film industry representatives said they had been trying for years to engage with the commission over problems facing the industry with very little success.

Yesterday Lillie said he had called for a meeting to resolve the issues. “I came into office in December and I’ve inherited these problems. It’s a pity they have gone to the media because their action will have a negative impact on the industry. I have already had calls from London.”

Weekend Argus highlighted the industry’s problems, which mostly relate to the issuing of permits in 2008. But the associations have other concerns.

In a statement this week the two associations said: “The industry’s vote of no confidence has come as a result of a strong culture of denial and self-promotion that exists within the commission. It has severely compromised the sustainability of the industry which has been identified as one of the key economic growth drivers in the province.”

The commission is jointly funded to the tune of R10 million by the city and the provincial government. Its mandate is to promote and develop the film sector.

The two film associations cited a number of reasons for their resignations, which were tabled at a Film Commission Board meeting on Wednesday last week.

These included:

l The commission’s refusal to deal with matters which adversely affect the industry in favour of costly events and “unnecessary” international marketing trips.

l The commission’s history of “mismanagement, poor corporate governance and non-compliance”;

l That the commission saw itself as a gatekeeper rather than an enabler to the industry. They said the commission had, for example, taken steps to silence the industry’s voice by implementing “spurious protocols” which prevented accountability and transparency.

Commission board member Gavin Levy, who is also a member of the Association of Stills Producers, has resigned. He said: “I accepted nomination to the board in the belief that I could add value to the commission by sharing my 23 years of experience, and give hands-on and effective input.”

However, he felt that he could better serve the industry without the “prohibitive shackles” of the commission which he described as “uncommunicative and non-responsive to the industry”.

There had been a problem with issuing permits for years. The office was understaffed and under-resourced, and had outdated systems. “They put in a new computing system but that crashed. Now there is only one fax machine and the office handles between 80 and 100 permit requests a day.”

Skip Margetts, who occupied the Commercial Producers Association’s seat on the board for over two years, said: “Every recommendation I’ve made to improve the situation has been rejected by Lillie but supported in direct consultations with the city.”

The association’s chairman, Peter Carr, agreed. “We have had enough. There have been numerous complaints about the permit office such as double bookings. Or an international film company arrives and there is no permit, which could result in a lawsuit. The permit office is in a mess.

“Instead of promoting the industry, the Film Commission’s actions are placing its future in jeopardy and that is something we simply cannot continue to ignore or accept. We have been meeting with the city and they are putting measures in place.”

Mansoor Mohamed, the city’s executive director Economic, Social Development and Tourism, said the industry was worth billions of rand to the economy. This was why the city and province has been working hard with the film industry over the past few years to create a “more enabling environment”. The creation of an online web-based film-permitting system by the city was regarded by many in the industry as a step in the right direction, he said.

This system, when fully implemented, would deal with many of the issues bothering the film industry.

Mohamed said the city was pleased with the Film Commission’s track record, but conceded there was room for improvement.

“Together we can do a lot more to help with essential transformation. The biggest gripe the film industry has with the regulatory authorities in Cape Town is accessibility to locations.

“Cape Town is a victim of its natural beauty. It is considered by many in the film industry as having some of the best film locations in the world. This has created unprecedented demand for filming here. But this demand has sometimes met by opposition from communities and residents who refuse to be inconvenienced. We have to constantly balance this high demand from the film industry with the rights and concerns of the residents, which are equally justified.

“Despite these challenges, the permit office successfully issued nearly 5 000 permits over the past 12 months, sometimes 80 a day.”

There were plans to inform and communicate with residents over the next year to create a more efficient and effective environment for managing locations. “Mass resignations do not help, but sometimes discomfort is required to enable change.”

Referring to Isaacs’s suspension, Mohamed said a forensic investigation had been held into an event held last year. It recommended that disciplinary action be taken against him and he was placed on a month’s suspension.

He conceded that this was unfortunate as the Film Permit Office was very busy in March. The city had seconded a senior manager to fill his role for the month.

melanie.peters@inl.co.za - Weekend Argus