Film Cities, Film Services: Political economy of production, distribution, exhibition

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1 DRAFT. Comments atively invited This aer is in onstant develoment. Comments are most welome. Last udated: 20/1/2013. This version resented at Conferene: Arhaeology of the Future / Arhélogie du future. Afrian inemas and utoias. Romanisti, Universität Bayreuth, Germany, January Film Cities, Film Servies: Politial eonomy of rodution, distribution, exhibition Keyan G Tomaselli and Nyasha Mboti 1 Abstrat Texts arise out of ontexts. The ontexts inlude olitial eonomy, industry, marketing and genres, state oliy, strutures and suort, ideologial assumtions, and historial onditions. The relationshi between texts and audienes define genres, while audiene develoment and rodut delivery (via film servies) is always an issue in South Afria. This aer draws on film ity, film servie, and film friendly onets, to examine how an indigenous inema an be suorted via the generation of aroriate value-hains that simultaneously loate South Afria s ometitive advantage in a global ontext, while also bringing inemas to huge dormitory areas laking in entertainment servies. Job reation, entrereneurshi and blak townshi audiene develoment are argued to underin indigenous film making strategies. The rojet develos a holisti methodology involving many researh artners in develoing aademi-industry artnershis in influening ity, rovinial and national film oliy. This aer thus examines the relationshi between texts and ontexts within a olitial eonomi framework that links textual generation with industry-oliy-suort-delivery-audienes in a single value hain Studies on the olitial eonomy of the ost-aartheid film industry are sare 2, and none have foused on studios, media reints, ultural fators and exhibition, finaning models or the networks haraterising ities in whih these are loated 3. The rojet outlined below aims to develo systemati analyses of trends and drivers of hange and ometitive-ness in South Afrian media ities. While film offies and rovinial ommissions have been ut in lae in some areas, systemati researh remains to be done on the finanial, satial and ultural imats of suh initiatives. The eonomis of film and media are no longer subjet to onventional eonomi theory as this industry draws also on ultural, soial and reative/symboli aital. 1, The Centre for Communiation, Media and Soiety, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Thanks to Astrid Treffrey- Goately (KZN) and Stehen Drake (AFDA) on an early roosal. Tom O Regan, Queensland University, is rojet advisor. Thanks also to Ben Goldsmith. Thanks to the UKZN College of Humanities for artial funding of the miro budget setion disussed below in whih our students are involved. 2 Exetions inlude Treffrey-Goately (2010), Botha (2004), Sheerson and Tomaselli (2000) and Mboti (2013). 3 Industry studies inlude Projet Gaullywood (2008) and DTI (2005). 1

2 The next setion examines four fators of any eonomy and adds a fifth, ative reative aital deriving from ultural intelligene. Eonomi Cometitiveness of Cities and Nations Researh on the tois of ometition and strategy has been largely dominated by studies on internal firm ativity. From a lustering ersetive, innovation is no longer invested in the individual rodut but is found in roesses, the ensemble of tehnologies and raties (Porter 1990). A luster is a geograhially roximate grou of interonneted firms, suliers and assoiated industries in a artiular field, linked by ommonalities and omlementarities, arising in artiular loations. Innovation in film 4 is therefore likely to be found in the servies rovided to rodution, whether in the ombination of servies or in transations and interations (Goldsmith and O Regan 2005: 52) [Italis in the original]. Muh thinking on the ometitiveness of nations has foused on the eonomy as a whole with national eonomi oliy identified as the dominant influene. Cities generate their own imulses, leading to growth or deay, indeendent to some extent from the national iture. A omrehensive study should onsider the artiular harater of business and labour, and setor suort via film offies and ommissions with regard to national funding and regulation. It may also require analysing ity authorities as agents for stimulating and shaing eonomi growth, obviously examining the linkages with ivil soiety and key eonomi ators (see Drake 2012). That is, how do ities antiiate the ometitive advantage of nations and inflet this into benefit whih attrats international rodution (Goldsmith and O Regan 2005:xii). The key fator endowments of eonomi theory (land, labour, loation, natural resoures, oulation) assume a assive (inherited) view of national eonomi oortunity. Sustained industrial growth has, however, hardly ever been built from these onventional inherited fators (Porter 1990). The Information Age requires that new ost-industrial fators be identified and, in the ase South Afria, other onsiderations suh as elite formation that muddy effiieny, servie delivery and normative eonomi logi are often over-determining (Mbeki 2009; Terrblanhe 2012). Cometitive advantage of nations results from four interlinked advaned fators and ativities in and between omanies in these lusters. These an be influened in a ro-ative way by government. The interlinked advaned fators in Porter s (1990) framework are: 1. Firm Strategy, Struture and Rivalry: the world is dominated by dynami onditions, where diret ometition imels firms to work for inreases in rodutivity and innovation. How does this work in an industry that is artly rivate, artly state-owned, and ubli? It is subsidised in seifi setors by, for examle, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the Deartment of Trade and Industries (DTI) and donor organisations? 5 [Where, for examle, do 4 A metonym for the entire subjet area of moving itures, inluding the film industry, rodution, marketing, distribution, exhibition, viewing, reetion and study (Chandler and Monday 2011:148). For our uroses, we also inlude all sreen industries. 5 The government s develomental intent is demonstrated by a variety measures inluding the NFVF. Some of the most signifiant initiatives inlude: tax inentives for rodution managed by DTI, the funding of skills develoment managed rimarily by NFVF and universities, the rovision of loan finane for ommerially-orientated rodution 2

3 the grassroots ReaGile modular onstruted mini-inema omlexes fit into this shema? Where do low budget rodutions interset ubli-rivate artnershis?] (See below; also Mboti, 2013). 2. Demand Conditions: the more demanding the ustomers in an eonomy, the greater the ressure faing firms to onstantly imrove their ometitiveness via quality, innovative roduts, et. In South Afria, this lays out in audiene develoment rojets, ultivating leisure-time habits that inlude inema-going. [Examles are the ReaGile initiative and ity festivals, the NFVF s intention to oen 150 sreens in townshi venues et.] 3. Related Suorting Industries. Satial roximity of ustream and/or downstream industries failitates the exhange of information and of ideas and innovations. [The knok-on effet of the still still-born film studio 6 seriously onstrained develoments in Durban in all setors inluding eduation, denying the ity the remier status as a media ity. When ost-rodution is exorted to other better servied ities, the rodution ity s infrastruture remains nasent and ometitiveness suffers.] 4. Contrary to onventional wisdom, Porter argues that the key fators of rodution (or seialized fators) are reated, not inherited. Seialized fators are skilled labour, aital and infrastruture. [What role do muniialities assign to ity film offies: develomental? Organisational? Serviing rodutions? Tourism romotion? Or, are they instrumentally ereived as extensions of muniial PR funtions romoting the ity or olitial arties rather than the ity romoting film? Film offies should build ritial mass as launhing ads for rodutive setoral growth by failitating a servies aroah.] Non-key or general use fators, suh as unskilled labour and raw materials, an be obtained by any omany, and hene do not generate sustained ometitive advantage. However, seialized fators involve heavy, sustained investment. These are more diffiult to reliate. This leads to ometitive advantage, beause if other firms annot easily rerodue these fators, they beome uniquely valuable. [Durban, for examle, largely loses its home-grown seialised video and TV graduates to media ities elsewhere where emloyment rosets are better. Conversely, Durban attrats rodution to its beahes, and adjaent wild life reserves.] The role of government in Porter s Model (Fig 1) is in ating as a atalyst and hallenger; to enourage or even ush omanies to raise their asirations and move to higher levels of erformane, to stimulate early demand for advaned roduts, and to fous on seialized fator reation. (It is not by aident that Invitus was rodued on loation in Cae Town, artly due erhas to the availability of an ethni onentration that ould be ast to lay South Paifi Islanders and some layers in the New Zealand rugby team. Similarly, the ultural roximity of through the Industrial Develoment Cororation, the establishment of ilot rogrammes in different loations to address distribution infrastruture. 6 See Savidies (2011) Valuable land is wasted ; htt://matthewsavides.wordress.om/2011/01/24/rime-durbanbeahfront-real-estate-stands-emty-as-buildings-rumble-and-refuse-iles-u/ Also see Boomgard (2011). The sale of muniial land to Videovision was finally aroved as a result of a ourt ruling in late 2012 at a fration of its market ost.. 3

4 Durban and its large Indian diasora reates lear synergies with Bollywood in both: i) exhibition of Indian-made fare (Avalon-Nu Metro Theatres); and, ii) in rodution (Videovision s Mr Bones movies released in India) and some low budget Indian ethni South Afrian- made features. These interating fators Porter has reresented thus (Fig 1): Fig 1. Porter s Diamond Model adated for the film value hain. Aessed from: htt:// v&sa=x&ei=ywr1umvldncxhafs3ihqdg&sqi=2&ved=0ccsqsaq&biw=1170&bih=771 A luster is the manifestation of a diamond at work. The enduring ometitive advantages in a global eonomy are often heavily loalised, arising from onentrations of highly seialised skills and knowledge, institutions, rivalry, related businesses, and sohistiated ustomers (Porter 1990). Porter s 4 Fators need to be sulemented with a fifth: 5. that of human/intelletual/reative/ultural and symboli aital. The skilled labour Fator 4 should inlude eduation, training and reativity, entrereneurshi and strategi lanning in Fator 5. These need to be leveraged by adequate aital investment in aroriate infrastruture (F4) and aess to aital. In South Afria, ubli-rivate artnershis have yet to be systematially leveraged. Suh fators should aly also to state funding bodies in thinking about the bigger develomental iture that inludes grassroots 4

5 emloyment initiatives and miro growth oints. The modular based mini-inema omlexes devised by ReaGile disussed below would offer an examle-in-ratie of all five Fators. The skilled labour rubri should inlude eduation and reativity, entrereneurshi and vision. These need to be leveraged by aital and infrastruture (Fator 4) as it is ultural aital that reates industrial innovation, finds new markets, invents new roduts and generates new ways of imroving erformane. Relevane of the Researh within the South Afrian Context: The South Afrian film industry generates over R5.5 billion in eonomi ativity annually, is an emloyment reator, diretly affeting omanies involved in rodution, ost-rodution, asting, rewing, equiment-hire, set design and roerty suly. Current emloyment estimates stand in the region of (DTI 2008, htt:// ). The industry is omrised of two main arts: i) the servie setor whih rovides reative and tehnial suort; and ii) that setor whih involves the rodution of loal ontent for television and inemas. The suess of the national industry is based largely on its aaity as a servie industry. Cae Town, in artiular, is a oular loation for international filmmakers who are attrated by the weak urreny, the diverse loations, the good servies infrastruture inluding well-trained rews, to hotels (demanded by rews and ators) and the long sunny days of the summer months. The demise of aartheid oinided with a number of ritial develoments, namely, the asendany of globalisation and eonomi liberalism based on markets, and the emergene of the third wave of demoratization. This onjunture also oinided with an underurrent of inreasing dissatisfation with the ost-industrial global order and its assoiated market fundamentalism, and negative onsequenes for equitable develoment, governane, and environmental sustainability (Mhone and Edigheji 2004,.1). Attemts to balane the sometimes-onfliting objetives of market-led develoment on the one hand, and demoratization on the other, ose enormous hallenges to oliy regulation design and its imlementation. Similar to other transitional soieties, South Afria is attemting to realize two sometimes ontraditory agendas of eonomi develoment and demorati transformation. However, it is imortant to also take note of the ways in whih the state (and arguably rivate bodies) are laying an ative role in suorting and romoting globalisation: The ontemorary globalisation of eonomi roesses is often resented as undermining the ability of national governments to manage and regulate the eonomi ativities loated within their territorial jurisditions. Rather than resenting an oosition between a globalising market and the nation-state, it is more aroriate to onetualize a restrutured nation-state laying an ative art in romoting those roesses routinely subsumed under the onvenient rubri of globalisation (Barnett 1998,.551). 5

6 On the Globalization of the Film Industry Globalization aounts for a ombination of different fators, onetualized as the transendental homogenization of olitial and soioeonomi roesses and theories (Akindele et al 2002: 7). Globalisation denotes the ubiquitous movement towards an intensely interating world order, artiularly evident in three interseting dimensions i) global finanial markets (urreny levels, stok exhanges, ommodities and energy future-ries); ii) the global seurity system ost 9/11 (United Nations, threat of terrorism, issues of onflit); and iii) international ommuniation (the Internet and web, global teleommuniations and broadasting, satellite and undersea abling networks). Suh networks: i) at as the atalyst of global aitalism; and ii) are instruments of demoratization and develoment. In the ase of ost-aartheid South Afria, a young demoray inheriting a history of human rights abuse and severe inequality, suh networks are relevant both for eonomi emowerment and also to enable demoratization. In aroahing this study, our overarhing onetual framework is grahially illustrated as follows: Figure 2: Conetual Framework (Frindte). Marshall MLuhan s (2011) early onet of a global village (1964) is indiative of how the globe has ontrated via the immediate transmission of information. This term, a reursor to the 6

7 Internet, has enabled the: sread of aitalism, western imerialism and the develoment of a global media system (Robertson, 1992: 22). Transnational inema is made and reeived in a global arena in whih diretors, funding institutions and film rews are ative beyond geograhial, national and ultural limitations. Contemorary rodution is less attahed to seifi nations, but is influened by an imaginary ommunity defined by attributes suh as gender, generation, religion, ethniity, olitial beliefs and so on. The term transnational ombines the notion of the nation but at the same time trans as an imliation for unevenness and mobility and links eole or institutions aross nations (Duroviova and Newman 2010: x). The onet of transnational inema hels to loate the ontext of a film within eonomi, soial, olitial and ultural influenes on the one hand, while on the other, emhasizing the imortane of fators suh as networks, knowledge exhange, harateristis of viewers, o-rodutions and international film festivals. We have also alied this term to studies of miro-budget inema within seifi ities in the ontext of the Nollywood model of rodution (see Mboti and Brown, forthoming). Global markets and global rodution (Hoskins & MFadyen, 1991), global flows and intra-regional flows (Chadha & Kavoori 2000), international ometition (Shin, 2005), o-rodutions (Taylor, 1995) and so on, are additional sub-fators that sustain transnational inema. The rise of transnational onsumer tastes (e.g. Hollywood, Nollywood) is an additional outome of globalisation (Lorenzen, 2008). The new onsumer is a aradox between industrial assumtions of assive mass onsumtion and the behaviour of inreasingly interative audienes (Grainge 2008: 13). Manuel Castells s theory of the global network soiety emhasizes this omlexity in onsumtion and organisation. Soial strutures are organizational arrangements of humans in relationshis of rodution, onsumtion, rerodution, exeriene, and ower exressed in meaningful ommuniation odes by ulture. Networks, influened by globalisation, shae and ontrol human lives in the form of finanial markets, transnational rodution, management, and the distribution of goods and servies, siene and tehnology, the mass media, the Internet, entertainment, international institutions, soial movements and more (2009: 24-5). The debate between Euroean ultural exetionists and Amerian free traders is germane. Cultural exetionalism is a strategy of ontained resistane against Amerian dominane. This form of symboli aital onsiders inema as art, heritage and identity/ideology versus the freetrade ersetive of inema as entertainment and business (Frau-Meigs, 2004). As a result of this debate the influene of globalisation has two different effets on filmmaking: homogenization of formats, but simultaneously the struggle for ontent luralism and ultural indeendeny. The above framework eluidates general imats of globalization in the form of eonomi, tehnologial, olitial and ultural effets. This in turn influenes different sheres of the film industry as art of global media. It manifests in effets, suh as eonomi and tehnologial asets (e.g., aess to eletroni media, advanement of film rodution equiment), rodution and orodution (e.g. new genres, and new distribution and exhibition models [see ReaGile below)), vertial and horizontally integration (e.g., film omanies move into exhibition or the exloitation of the movie ontent into different roduts) and onsumtion and organisation (e.g. global onsumers and interativity in media onsumtion, the ReaGile model). 7

8 Global Media & the Film Industry A distintion should be dawn between two theories: globalizing of media theory and theorization of global media (Duroviova and Newman 2010: 36). This rojet alies both models. Considerations addressed are: Passive onsumtion, historially, haraterised analogue media. Digital media however enable interativity, o-reation and immediate reirulation. Ongoing R&D ontinuously results in new formats, genres and forms of onsumtion. New digital latforms reate a massive demand for ontent, fed not just by media and entertainment omanies, but also by individuals. Online distribution means that any medium an obtain global aess; a roblem in South Afria due to high onnetion fees and inadequate bandwidth. Partiiants in global media ositioning will need to understand and invest in the roess of ontent loalization. These interonneted roesses are resented in Fig. 3: Figure 3: Future of Media 4 hanging Fators: Format, Content, Revenue, Distribution. Future Exloration Network (2006) Against the above bakground, our artiular study: analyses how different oints of the film industry value hain interrelate; rovides a network analysis of interlinks within and Durban ity industries with emhasis on the ontribution of studio omlexes to loal growth; analyses the multilier effets for ities finanial and sae eonomies and for infrastrutural rovision; 8

9 onsiders the additional multilier effets for the rovines in whih eah of the three ities is loated. By studying relevant develoment nodes in the industry, the rojet will rovide a omarative analysis between the likely imat of urrent and future industry develoment measures on the one hand, and the state s desire for redress and equity on the other. A related aim is to analyse ourrenes where a duality of urose and/or tension exists between the state s attemt to rovide for both its itizens and the needs of global aitalist eonomy. Our rojet builds on ioneering work onduted for the Australian Film Commission by Tom O Regan, Susan Ward and Ben Goldsmith (2003, 2005, 2010a, 2010b). They analyse the signifiane of studio omlexes in onferring film friendly ity status. High-end studios equied with multile sound stages are aable of meeting the rodution needs of high budget rodutions while simultaneously serviing telemovie, television series and ommerials. At full aaity, Cae Town Film Studios, for examle, is able to generate between 736 and 1361 diret jobs er annum, on average, three times more than a loation based film 7. Multilier effets emanating from a busy studio inlude ommerial and residential ativity in its viinity. In Durban, whih laks a studio, we have examined how below-the-radar low budget films like Attak of an Indian Werewolf (2011) interset or exit the formal value hain being romoted by ity offies. Studios are ategorized aording to the extent and tye of rodution work they do and for the degree to whih they enable onentration of this work in a single lae (Goldsmith & O Regan 2003,.31). The three models are: The rodution reint, servies rodution, but laks extensive ost-rodution failities and servies (Durban). The inema ity omlex is orientated towards film and television drama work and ontains the full range of rodution and ostrodution servies (Johannesburg). The media ity inludes all of the features of the inema ity but additionally reognizes a broader range of broadasting rodution failities and new media servies (Ibid,.31; see also Goldmsith and O Regan 2005). Studio omlexes rovide a one-sto-sho for loal and international filmmakers (Cae Town). In the Australian studies, studios are maed aording to their size and loation (Goldsmith & Regan 2003,.22). The objetive is to redit future growth by: i) measuring levels of rodution and other key indiators; and ii) evaluating the signifiane of the studio omlex idea. Few domesti rodution industries are able to sustain onsistent loal work flow. They are therefore neessarily foused on growing the volume of internationally mobile feature rodutions, while also reating o-rodution artnershis with other industries. Although these rodution entres are rinially organized to servie international rodution, this neessarily ours in relation to loal/national film and TV rodution. Studio omlexes are thus integral omonents of international rodution eology as well as, often, national rodution eology (Goldsmith and 7 Figures rovided by Nilesh Singh, Videovision. See also htt:// 9

10 O Regan 2005,.9-10). Studios servie runaway 8 international rodutions that reate loal emloyment. Studio studies identify key ators, alulate industrial strengths of suh individual and assoiated firms, and estimate the multilier effets of sending on loal eonomies and emloyment levels. This maing exerise will rovide a learer iture of how the industry funtions in the three resetive ities and how different oints of the film value hain interrelate. Loal Issues: Researh Questions The following questions are signosted here to frame the disussion 1) What are the below-the line informal rodution and exhibition ativities ourring at grassroots levels in the smaller ities? How an their eonomi imat be alulated? 2) What is the otential of these miro-ativities in generating loal nodes of develoment? 3) How do these informal initiatives reresent and leverage loal ultural reertoires with what effet? 4) In what ways an these initiatives be integrated into existing reints, the inema omlex and eventually the media ity? 5) How would informal roduers and exhibitors be brought into the formal, taxable, setor? As a ase study for Durban, where the rojet is being iloted, the develoment nodes investigated inlude: skills develoment rogrammes suh as the formal training rovided by the Video Tehnology Unit at the Durban University of Tehnology and other training initiatives (see Ogunlela 2011). The Durban Film Offie (DFO), launhed in 2003, whih has develoed its own strategi lans (see Dakile 2011). The KZN Film Commission, launhed in 2007, relaunhed in Value hain analysis of Durban-rodued low budget films (Naidoo 2011; Nyokona 2012; Jokhun 2012; Ramdutt 2012; Mthethwa 2012); the value of Durban s loations (see Zwane 2011), asting otential in Durban (see Njisane 2011), rinial hotograhy servies (see Frindte 2011), and the under-the-radar adult setor (see Tyali 2011). A number of reorts ommissioned by the Durban Film Offie (DFO) from Martin Cuff Consulting offer baseline assessments in the value hain, eonomi imat, ga analysis and so on (2009a, 2009b, 2009, 2009d) The annual Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) whih from 2010 has o-hosted with DFO the Durban Film Mart, and whih runs the annual Talent Camus. DIFF s huge outreah rogramme failitates workshos and sreenings in both formal ity inemas and townshis and informal settlements where inema (i.e. exhibition) failities are sare. The satial organisation and finanial imat of the relevant rojets need to be assessed, and the general objetives and ativities analyzed within the larger ontext of Durban as a inema and/or media ity omlex. 8 Runaway rodution is a term used by the Amerian film industry to desribe filmmaking and television rodutions that are "intended for initial release/exhibition or television broadast in the U.S., but are atually filmed in another ountry (Wkiiedia htt://en.wikiedia.org/wiki/runaway_rodution) 10

11 The romise of the roosed film studio in Durban. Suort for studio omlexes is an integral art of the ortfolio of film oliy initiatives alongside film training, rodution and srit develoment suort and marketing assistane (Goldsmith and O Regan 2003,.15). The highly-funded ubli-rivate artnershi of the long-awaited Cae Town studio was re-emted by other rivate, smaller, initiatives able to resond more quikly to the more immediate demands of global rodutions. In ontrast, the ontestation over the Durban studio roosal offers a textbook ase study of the roblems and onsequenes that our when muniial governments allegedly fail to follow roer roedure. Muh work already exists on media-indued tourism and the benefits it brings to the loations where suessful films were made. Film rews are high onsumers of high end loal hositality servies (see Ward and O Regan 2009). (Our researh in the Kalahari in 1996 revealed that a mini safari industry and ultural villages develoed around the very remote desert town of Tshumkwe, Namibia, from the Gods Must be Crazy series of movies). Examination of ReaGile s lans to loate mini-inemas on muniial land serving informal and sub-eonomi urban areas, and to establish a modular ontainer manufaturing lant in Durban. The intersetoral multilier effets of this roosed initiative will beome lear within the year as its roll out begins in Katlahong in January The formal exhibition setor is also to be maed (Ster-Kinekor, Nu-Metro, Avalon, indeendents, Cinema Nouveau, and Imax, now losed, and other outlets.) Souting for otential sites for ReaGile and ma how they ould exand the reah of DIFF and the KwaMashu Film Festival while simultaneously reating loal nodes of eonomi develoment, rodution and exhibition for loal rogramming. Beyond the formal nodes (and the mini inema omlexes enabled by ReaGile) are many informal ativities inluding small-sale festivals, ommunity video-making initiatives, wedding and funeral videos, and the street-based both legal and illegal distribution of irate DVDs. How an the irates be disabled and/or brought into the formal setor? In researhing the relationshi between the regional industry and the global eonomy, it is imortant to note that film and television rodution ould be to a ertain degree desribed as a model global industry sine it involves the movement of individuals, ultural and investment aital, information, goods and servies aross national borders (Ward and O Regan 2009,.19). Therefore, how Durban, Johannesburg or Cae Town link with other international industries is a key question. For Durban, the growing links with Bollywood, both in terms of reiroal exhibition markets, exhibition of Indian fare, et., is a new trend indiated in the introdution a few years ago of a weekly Bollywood wraaround of the Daily News Tonight setion. A Film Servies, Film Friendly Aroah The methodology is adoted from the O Regan and Goldsmith (2003) studies done on the Australian Gold Coast, and their global study on The Studio. Their methodology offers a desrition of the: 11

12 oliy framework and the ontemorary film studio; satial eonomy of the industrial value hain; and networks that link the industry within seifi ities. The framework we have develoed for South Afria is: Fig 4: Researh Flow Chart Toward a Film servies Framework Following Goldsmith and O Regan, the Durban leg builds on the assumtion that intervention is not targeted at the film rodut itself, but rather at the range of intermediate inuts, organizational arrangements, and exertise assoiated with roesses involved in develoing rojets For an initial reort on Phase I of the Durban Media City rojet see: htt://ms.ukzn.a.za/index.h?otion=om_ontent&task=view&id=1077&itemid=142 12

13 Fundamentally, film servies aroahes are onerned with aabilities of film ities in terms of skills, infrastrutures, and networks. These aabilities underwrite the aaity of an industry in a region or loality to reate, innovate and grow, with a onern for the otimal funtioning and develoment of failities, aaities, and tehnologial infrastruture. In summary, servies aroahes serve a family of governmental uroses 10 : Servies aroahes rovide a vehile for the loation interests of artiular laes romoting loally the tasks of international film servies rovision (see Zwane 2011 for an aliation to Durban). They assist in ithing for international rojets by foregrounding the rovision of servies by a range of roviders to footloose international rodution. This attention onsiders the health, harater, and skills develoment of the film servies themselves, irresetive of whether these skills and tehnologies are exerised in loal or international rodutions. A film servies aroah enourages the identifiation of identifiably different market segments and therefore fouses attention on: i) where gas exist, ii) the ways in whih suh servies an viably suly both international and loal rodution, and iii) how sulying these different market segments might be better failitated through onnetions between the different rodution setors (see Naidoo 2011, below). Film servies oliy enourages government and industry to fous on the omonent rather than total rodut. The film industry beomes the rovider of valued inuts into other reative industries, the servie setor, and ICT variously urban entertainment businesses suh as theme arks, digital ontent and aliations industries, gaming, tourism, and even real estate and lae marketing. In this way, film is diretly joined u to other often more omelling governmental and ubli riorities. Film beomes imortant here not in its own right but for its otential to enhane, enable and innovate not only adjaent reative industries, but also broader servie setors and even ities and regions. Film servies aroahes rovide oliy reognition of the strutural organization of the ultural eonomy into networks of small to medium-sized omanies sulying disaggregated inuts into transient film rojets. In so doing, they rovide soe for the develoment of ations aable of enhaning and failitating inter-firm interation and ollaboration. The aroah lends itself to oliy intervention to seure viable, healthy, and outwardly oriented reative lusters, reints, and networks. Government failitation, as was the intension with the ontested Durban studio, aimed at enabling lustering and inter-firm ollaboration to generate demand for servies. Governmental suort for studio omlexes, infrastruture rovision, and an understanding of the transformative effets of studios, in relation to evolving forms of ubli-rivate artnershi, and onsideration of the relationshi between international and loal rodution, are all sensible within this kind of film servies framework. 10 Summarized from Goldsmith and O Regan (2005, 55-58) 13

14 Servies frameworks are friendly to emerging reative industries oliies onerned with oordinating, integrating, and failitating onnetions among the different arts of the film industry and other arts-related industries. In emhasizing inuts and interrelatedness, they ermit the boundaries between industries to be rossed, allowing film and TV rodution to be laed alongside related ultural rodut and entertainment industries like musi, games, and multimedia on the one hand and information and ommuniation tehnology on the other (see, e.g., the Durban Smart Xhange Produers Lab). The international industry is attrated to, and involved with, a artiular region beause of the state and harater of the loal industry and the rofessionalism of the servies offered. Produers are therefore interested in the state, nature, harater, and reativity of loal industries, whih may have been rinially but not exlusively develoed in loal rodutions but that now servies an international omonent. This means that the state of international interest is artly deendent on the existing loal industry and that there is as a onsequene a dynami relationshi between the two industries. The above framework was alied to the study low budget films shot in Durban whih have attrated sustaining audienes, and whih did not get suort from NFVF or leverage designated servies offered by DFO. The value hain looks like this: Fig 5 (South Afrian Film and Television Industry Reort, 2008: 48) 14

15 Miro-budget ethekwini Films and Indigenous Knowledge Prodution The systemati study of miro-budget films in Afria is a result of the oularity of the Nigerian video film industry, or Nollywood. Studies of Nollywood are now ommon, but, to our knowledge, only one ratie-led study has foused on Nollywood as a rodution and finaning strategy in South Afria (Passhier 2011). Loating low budget miro films at the intersetion of a number of ultural olitis and disourses and how these films are ositioned by their (some of them young, even born free after aartheid) ratitioners, offers a uniquely South Afrian take on the toi. Miro-budget filmmakers struggle to make ends meet beause rodution is a high-risk, high-ost investment with few viable or lear re-rodution distribution, exhibition or sreening aths. The growth of the Nigerian and Ghanaian industries, is an examle of how low-end filmmaking an onstitute a form of national exression that transends ethni and geograhial boundaries and that defies eonomi onstraints. Suh films are omleted in a few days or weeks on shoe-string budgets, burned onto video diss and romtly sold on the streets. Though often tehnially hallenged, Nollywood-tye movies draw Afrian audienes beause they are meaningful to them. That is, the ultural modes and odes utilised in the films always ring a bell, as it were. Indeed, Nigerian and Ghanaian video films are a form of indigenous exression, a resonse to the loal and the global world through loal reativities and innovations. In South Afria, where overty and wealth surround and feed off eah other, low-budget filmmakers are yet to get muh tration, even as attemts to build and launh the loal film industry gather ae. A miro-budget film in South Afria has a rodution budget of between R and R3 million. In Durban, the figure is lower R to R Few low-budget filmmakers have national rofiles, even though numbers have been inreasing sine The advent of DStv s Afrian inema hannels, atering to the needs of this onstitueny 11, and the fat of their being a ermanent fixture at international film festivals (suh the Durban International Film Festival), has meant that low-budget filmmakers are beoming more and more ulturally and eonomially imortant. In January 2012 alone, 11 suh films were made in Durban. The formal onstitution of an ethekwini Filmmakers Assoiation (EFA) followed. The establishment of the KwaMashu based KwaZulu Natal Afrian Film Festival (KAFF) in 2004 had already indiated the momentum generated by the formerly marginalised filmmaker. Plans for a miro-film fund to be made available by the ethekwini Eonomi Develoment Unit, through the Durban Film Offie (DFO), are at an advaned stage. DFO has rioritised the develoment of emerging film-makers with rogrammes suh as the Produers Lab, an inubation rogramme for film-setor Small Miro and Medium Enterrises (SMMES), in artnershi with the SmartXhange Tehnology and Innovation Hub. The SmartXChange SMME inubator hub has been hurning out more and more emerging filmmakers from Durban. The NFVF s Slate fund also reognises the growth of this sae in South Afria In July 2011 Mzansi Magi ut out a all for rojet submissions on 10 low-budget feature-film rojets from KwaZulu-Natal, to be develoed into 60 to 90-minute films, and aired on the DStv hannel. Mzansi Magi has ommissioned 10 rojets for develoment. 12 The institution ut out a all in July 2011 for aliations for a slate fund whih would see three rodution omanies being awarded develoment and rodution funding for a slate of films, targeting uoming reative talent and giving referene to first 15

16 Desite their low-budget status, miro-films have been well suited to the ethekwini film industry s finanial limitations. They are a ritial growth strategy for indeendent roduers, and a training ground for emerging filmmakers. This setor of the rojet is examining how the emerging eonomy of the miro-film in ethekwini funtions as a form of layered indigenous disourse that utilises a hybrid of indigenous knowledge systems and reeived filmmaking wisdoms to reate a unique sae that more exensive rodutions have not bothered to fill. Beause most of these emerging filmmakers are young blak South Afrians, our researh is learning about the otential of this form of ultural rodution in the ontext of ast histories, transitional resenes and emerging futures. The study fouses on the develoment of the miro film in Durban from story to exhibition-stage, onentrating on: i) rodution; ii) narrative strategies; iii) ultural olitis; and iv) olitial eonomy utilised and how these onstitute erformanes of Durban-ness, being South Afrian and being Afrian in a global world. The lak of funding suort fores the films to be firmly grounded in the lived. We are onerned with loating miro films at the intersetion of ultural olitis and disourses and how these films are ositioned by their (some of them young, even born free ) ratitioners. In ethekwini, younger diretors are develoing do-it-yourself, indeendent filmmaking whih is rivately finaned low-budget filmmaking without distribution guarantees shot on low-ost digital video. Their modus oerandi is not, it would seem, neessarily suited to the bureauray of ubli funding models or even systemati ity suort. A shemati desrition of the relationshi between rodution and the ity of Durban as enountrered by one low budget Durban roduer is skethed in Fig 6 below: time filmmakers who have been unable to break into the ometitive feature film market. The fund will award R1 000, 000 er year for develoment of at least 4 rojets and R1 000, 000 er year to rodue one of the films out of the develoment slate. This funding will ontinue for a eriod of three years. 16

17 Fig 6. Value Chain for Attak of an Indian Werewolf. (Boomgard 2010; see Naidoo 2011) Lynette Naidoo s framework needs to be reurosed every time it is used in seifi ontexts. Her study reveals very strong, strong and weak links and (lose-to-broken) very weak links, with regard to the artiular film studied. Sindisa Nyokona (2012) later oerationalised Naidoo s model thus with regard to Knife Edge (Sithebe 2012) (Fig 7): 17

18 Table 1: researh question one Question Data Colletion Data Soure Purose/Rationale Data analysis What are the startu resoures and skills needed by a filmmaker in bringing together the film servies in the Durban film industry? Semi-strutured and in deth interviews Whih film servies are afforded in the making and the exhibition of the movie Knife Edge (Sithebe, 2012)? Table 2: researh question two Philani Sithebe, Durban based, srit writer, diretor, and roduer, Durban Motion Pitures. To find out whih servies were used in the making of the movie Knife Edge (Sithebe, 2012) and the quality of these servies for a low budget film Drawing u an illustration of the film servies used in the film Knife Edge (2012) Question Data Colletion Data Soure Purose/Rationale Data analysis What are the roles of the Durban Film Offie, IDC/ DTII and NFVF in miro (low-budget) films? Informal interview and Semi- strutured interviews Tony Monti, the CEO of the Durban Film Offie (DFO) Sub question: Furthermore, in understanding this relationshi, how do the miro filmmakers omly with eonomi develoment (i.e. job reation &skills develoment) as a rerequisite for aital investment? Field work through observation (taking field notes) Doument and ontent analysis ethekwini Filmmakers Assoiation (EFA) of the lowbudget/emerging filmmaking sene in Durban DFO Reorts, IDC/ Det. Trade and Industry (DTI) Reorts To gain a general understanding of the environment of the film industry in Durban. To find out how Durban filmmakers qualify for suort servies failitated by the DFO, and what rerequisites does the DFO demand. To meet filmmakers, and be informed about the formal setting u the EFA struture whih reresents the filmmakers in Durban. To analyse the mandate of the DFO, DTI et. in assisting the miro filmmakers in Durban Contemlation and interretation of field observations and interviews as fators influening the Durban film industry Qualitative analysis and interretation of textual material Table 3: researh question three Question Data Colletion Data Soure Purose/Rationale Data analysis What value is added by eah film servie in the movie Knife Edge (Sithebe, 2012)? Sub question: How does eah film servie add and/or limit value to the overall suess of the Knife Edge (Sithebe, 2012)? Semi strutured interviews Philani Sithebe, Durban based, srit writer, diretor, and roduer, Durban Motion Pitures. To ma out the value hain of eah servie used in Knife Edge (2012) Drawing u an analysis of the value added by eah film servie used in Knife Edge (2012) 18

19 Fig 7. Nyakona Taking Nyakona s model into the textual and symboli realms, we generated the following researh question: To what extent is indigenous ultural olitis and olitial eonomy behind the surge in miro filmmaking in Durban? Sub-researh questions To what extent do emerging filmmakers in ethekwini use miro-film as a mode of ultural exression? Is the surge in miro-film rodution an exression of new modes of ultural identity and olitis? To what ultural end is miro-film being used by these emerging miro-filmmakers? What regulates knowing, seeing, seaking, hearing and erforming of identity in these films? What loal and global fores, if any, iminge on emerging rodution and distribution models? How are these emerging rodution models hallenging, if at all, the limits of ontemorary South Afrian ultural oliy? To what extent is an indigenous imetus reonfiguring national rodution systems and rendering traditional finaning, rodution, and distribution models less viable? Theoretial Framework 1. Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS). The Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Poliy, as adoted by the South Afrian Government, is offered as an enabling framework to stimulate and strengthen the ontribution of indigenous knowledge to soial and eonomi develoment in South Afria. The main IKS Poliy drivers in the South Afrian ontext inlude: a. The affirmation of Afrian ultural values in the fae of globalisation a lear imerative given the need to romote a ositive Afrian identity; b. Pratial measures for the develoment of servies rovided by IK holders and ratitioners, with a artiular fous on traditional mediine, but also inluding areas suh as agriulture, indigenous languages and folklore;. Underinning the ontribution of indigenous knowledge to the eonomy the role of indigenous knowledge in emloyment and wealth reation; and d. Interfaes with other knowledge systems, for examle indigenous knowledge is used together with modern biotehnology in the harmaeutial and other setors to inrease the rate of innovation. 19

20 Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) is defined by Quiroz (1994) as the sum total of the knowledge and skills whih eole in a artiular geograhi area ossess and whih enable them to get the most out of their environment. Three tyes of IKS exist: tait, exliit and imliit (Prah 1994). Tait knowledge refers to the unonsious and intuitive knowledge gained through exeriene that allows individuals to make deisions without referring to rules or riniles (e.g., knowing how to network at a onferene). Exliit knowledge is artiulated and aessible to anyone who reads, hears or looks at it (e.g., a training guide on using a software akage or the onlusions of a oliy briefing aer). Lastly, imliit knowledge hels individuals to know what is soially and ulturally aroriate in a given irumstane inluding shared beliefs, values and exetations (e.g., understanding management attitudes within a given organization). De Carvalho (2010) observes that IKS an lead to inreased revenue from sales as well as inrease job oortunities in harvesting, rearation, transortation, and manufaturing and distribution setors. In this rojet, we see IKS as omatible with the value hain analyses of loal film industries and it is the very essene of the ReaGile rojet.. In this rojet we are interested in the omlex reation, use, onversion and adatation of loal knowledges in the miro-film industry in Durban, a hase to be undertaken during We interret different modes of IKS and their ontext-derived uses and adatations in ontemorary environments by film ratitioners suh as the emerging filmmakers in ethekwini. Whether or not these filmmakers are using modes of IKS born out of frustration with mainstream funding, ultural and tehnologial oliies is assessed below. Using Nollywood (and its Ghanaian derivative) as a benhmark, we identify below different modes of eonomi adatations of IKS, ultural-disursive adatations of IKS and tehnologial adatations of IKS. Entrereneurshi, Setators and Develoment One of the most ressing issues is the small South Afrian inema-going oulation. The geoolitis of aartheid resulted in almost all inemas being loated in large shoing malls found in traditionally white and now affluent blak areas. Few inemas servie oor blak townshis. However, the nasent ReaGile Community Uliftment initiative whih aims to loate ontainerbased mini-inemas, refreshment and servie omlexes on muniial roerty and on shool grounds in disadvantaged areas is addressing this lak. The series of itures below give some indiation of the nature and sale of the rojet (see Mboti, 2013). The rojet will ondut ation researh into the oeration s start-u and monitor and shae its develoment. Permission from the Johannesburg City Parks has been seured to lae ReaGile Cinemas in ity arks, endorsement in writing has been reeived from the Minister of Arts and Culture, and the Deartment of Eduation has been aroahed to loate Cinema Comlexes with Comuter/Internet Training failities on or near shool grounds. Eah omlex omrises 27 Co O emloyees/owners. Sixty seats er inema x 8 shows x 30 days = seats er month. That is, eah erson in a athment area an see one movie every 2 months to fill the inema to aaity. A walking distane of +-2 km radius, overs 6000 houses x 5 eole in a normal townshi, = In rural areas the radius is about 5km and the athment oulation is

21 21

22 Stok Stok Stok AMP, DVD,DS DB TV Stok Stok Stok 4.8 Fig. 7. Interior iture of the omuter lab attahed to the ReaGile mini inema omlex Fig 8. Plan of the ReaGile Comlex 15 Coyright J. H. Eshenburg All Rights Reserved F ENTRANCE San Print F Counter AC on to F basin Counter Water Tank Community Polie Centre basin SAFE basin WCF Toilet 4.8 Cell Charge Stak Chair s Usher Server DB.9 Table & Benhes.6 Table & Benhes 12 Cinema / Theatre Counter Table & Benhes 3.6 STAGE DB Coyright J. H. Eshenburg All Rights Reserved Sreen B a k s t a g e (Tent) Exam Table/Bed basin Counter WCF Toilet basin basin Community Care Centre Sreen on to basin F Table & Benhes Sreen on to Table & Benhes AirCon on to Stok Paved Covered Patio va Table & Benhes Coa-Cola Fridge Sreen on to 20 Freezer Existing Publi Oen Sae / Publi Park or Shool PlayGround for FREE COMMUNITY VIEWING Po Corn Kiosk Fla Counter Kiosk Counter Sreen on to Kiosk Fla desk ENTRANCE Generator Sreen on to Ram

23 Fig 9. Plan: ReaGile Mini Cinema Comlex with PC Lab. Fig 10. ReaGile Comlex, Outside View Fig 11. ReaGile Comlex with PC Lab, Cut Away View ReaGile is intended for townshis, informal areas and rural ommunities with high unemloyment. The omany identifies twenty five unemloyed individuals in a athment area of 23

24 ±30 000, offers them ownershi of the omlex loated on ubli oen sae muniial land or shool roerty. The inema omlex is onstruted in ontainers, is air-onditioned, equied with sensurround sound, tiered seating, urtains, rojetion equiment and seurity mehanisms. It s a real inema. Under the roof of the inema faing outwards are five 2.7m TV sreens. Inome is generated through the sale of tikets (±R7), refreshments, advertising et. Start u finane is rovided via the National Emowerment Fund. Develoment ommuniation is usually exlained as a balane between failure and suess. For examle, ultural and ontologial fators resulted in the rejetion of a R136 million Biblial and western movie studio, to have servied global rodutions at Pella in the Northern Cae (Evans 2008). ReaGile, however, after engaging in extensive ommunity onsultations, seems to have all its bases overed. It aims to: teah entrereneurshi, disourage deendeny; rovide eduation and training; imose lear auditing ontrols, rovide a seurity strategy. works with small rodution ooeratives to enourage loal rodution, sreening and viewershi The omlexes are movable and if not viable - or oorly managed in one lae - they an be easily reloated to a new site. It takes just two days to eret the full set u. These mini inema omlexes would oerate seven days a week: The benefits for loal ommunities are as follows: eah omlex will generate 25 guaranteed jobs. Over jobs are envisaged nation-wide from omlexes with a rojeted inome to the distribution setor of R350 million annually; the initiative builds business skills amongst unemloyed ommunities, and rovides hea, seure and lean entertainment areas to ommunities who lak them; rovides alohol-free entertainment in areas where there are limited attrations; will build audienes for film and TV broadasts. (Currently, Ster-Kinekor and Nu-Metro are strategi distribution artners). will beome a node for other business ativity in eah area where omlexes are loated; will rovide 30 PCs and internet aess for loal shool and ommunity use. will ontribute to audiene develoment on a large sale one underway with regard to setators who do not normally frequent inema. rovide safe saes for eduational and ultural erformane ativities for residents of informal settlements and low inome areas. Will engender a sense of ommunity ownershi. ReaGile also addresses the roblem of rime and health by roviding a ontainer based offie for ommunity oliing forums and a Care Centre and by eliminating the need for night-time travel to aess these omlexes. 24

25 From a business ersetive, the following an be researhed: How do uneduated and unemloyed eole beome small-sale entrereneurs? What enourages them to move from being deendents of state handouts to self-emloyed entrereneurial agents? What are the multilier effets for the athment ommunities? How will ReaGile ontribute to overty redution? And of ourse, what are the benefits to the film industry as a whole? Path Deendeny 13 Desite the sohistiation of the ReaGile business lan, available rivate investment and ubli suort from seifi government deartments like the National Emowerment Fund, and the enthusiasm of senior offiials at other state deartments, the devil is often in the detail. Oerationalizing the rojet has been onstantly stalled by loal government ineffiienies, intransigent ersonnel, and, at loal level, orrution. The lak of tration within all levels of the state san be exlained by the onet of ath deendeny as regard to deision makers (see North 2010). Path deendeny ours when a suessor state or organisation adots similar strategies as the one it as relaed. As a result, the new state, having failed in many resets to rovide due leadershi, now, like the latter-day exeriene of the aartheid state, is inreasingly finding itself autioned, questioned and relaed by the inreasingly strident NGO and ivil soiety setors. That is to say, governane is inreasingly haening outside of the state itself. The result is: state susiion of ubli-rivate artnershis, due to wanting to be both referee and layer, without the aaity of doing either roerly, let alone together. This results in: state susiion of setors ating as an internal oosition/ollaborator /imlementer in inreasingly uneasy relations with the state (e.g., the Treatment Ation Camaign is a rime examle in the field of health). The NGO setor is ereived by the state to threaten asets of the ost-aartheid state as government has no strategy other than o-otation and atronage to manage the 30 million imoverished and inreasingly restive itizens largely held external to the benefits aruing to the new ruling lass alliane (inluding the COSATU trade unions). The indeendent NGO setor is seen to be working amongst the 30 million, often ometing with the state (e.g., the NFVF s roosed 150 townshi sreens ). Civil soiety organisation and NGOs are therefore seen to be oosed or at least questioning the state s atronage system and its failing strategy to manage the restive masses. The ath deendeny inherited by the ANC from both the National Party on the one hand and ommunism on the other, where many in senior state ositions learned their 13 Tom O Regan and Eri Louw heled me to ontualise and write this setion.) 25

26 eonomis and olitis, is that the eonomy is a fixed-size ake, to be ut u with the largest slies going to the new and old elites (Mbeki 2009; Terreblanhe 2012). The eonomy is not easily understood by this fration as a set of rodution fators, finanial relations and organisational strategies that an grow the GNP ake into whih many of the exluded an be integrated through the failitation of small-sale ventures suh as is being offered by, for examle, ReaGile, amongst thousands of other otential ventures. Basially, and ironially, more resoures for the oor (suh as is being suggested by ReaGile) are redutively seen to translate into less resoures for the rih. (This is the lassi US Reublian ideology). The strategy of atronage inludes President Zuma s himerial romise of jobs (5 million at last ount) on whih the state annot deliver. But the state seems unwilling to squander the ironi ideologial hold that it has on its inreasingly angry rank and file suorters when ventures like ReaGile laim to be able to assist it to deliver on its job romises. The bugbear here is the issue of ubli-rivate artnershis. ReaGile s hallenge that it an stimulate self-sustaining jobs on full roll out, given aroriate ubli-rivate artnershis, is ossibly onsidered something of a threat to the state s (ideologial) laim to be the sole reository of job reation. By rhetorially holding this osition, the state thus aims to retain voter suort (even if this itizenry engages in violent ats of resistane) from those who will never get jobs under the urrent disensation. Ventures like ReaGile, read through eonomist Mbeki s analytial rism, are inorretly assumed to host the onsumtive eonomy rather than as art of a rodutive eonomy. As onsumtion, the state would rather own these kinds of ventures than work with them. Hene the sometimes oortunisti Blak Eonomi Emowerment (BEE) interest in wanting shares in ReaGile rather than BEE reresentatives being onerned with what ReaGile will do to emower the oor. Ventures like ReaGile transgress two reeived ath deendenies what s taken-forgranted - inherited by the ANC from the National Party s setionalist national-soialist aartheid eonomy. The rivate setor rodues the wealth that is aroriated by the ubli setor and many of the BEE omanies that onsumes and squanders it (Mbeki 2007). Projets like ReaGile are reators of wealth, and do not ollaborate with the state in onsuming it (e.g. via bribery, tendrereneurshi, orrution, hand-outs, exedient share alloations et.). If the ath deendeny is based on atronage and eonomi bondage, the immediate benefit of ReaGile to the state-deendent elite bureauray is unlear to this onstitueny, notwithstanding the romise of jobs and those that the ReaGile omlexes will generate via multilier effets.. Beyond the Path Deendenies: Small-mall-lexes ReaGile s develoment end is best enabled by urban renewal. That is, the ReaGile rojet is the informal loally-owned equivalent of a ororately-owned urban mall. 26

27 ReaGile is a small-mall-lex (smalllex), attrating users/onsumers to anillary ativities entred on a grou of anillary servies (ommunity oliing, rimary health are lini, refreshment kiosk, eduational use et.). As suh, ReaGile aims to introdue a new kind of low volume ommunity-entred ommere/ubli servie that is of diret benefit to loalised onsumers, as what is sent, and the servies to be delivered, largely remain in the athment ommunity. The smalllex offers a safe, lean, substane-free, leisure, entertainment and eduational environment. The smalllex is the low inome and informal settlement equivalent of a large ity mall, where suburbanites get their entertainment and exerise in safe, lean, air onditioned and well-olied weloming environments. Urban renewal = entrereneurshi / emowerment = job reation whih results in uward lass mobility. The eonomi ake thus gets bigger it s not a fixed size as soialists assume. There is more wealth to go around. Some within the 30 million oor and unemloyed will begin to identify the benefits offered by suh small-sale ventures. They beome more stable itizens beause eah of the 25 emloyees of eah ReaGile omlex is now able to better suort their own extended families. The smalllex will at like a entral lae for the athment ommunity of It is within walking distane, loated on muniial roerty, used by eole who know and use these as ubli saes, and onsider them their own. The ommunity oliing faility will be run by individuals from the athment ommunity, onferring a sense of symboli ownershi of both the omlex and of the ommunity s safety. The basi unit ould be grown modular style one oeration to inlude: - a food ourt to serve affordable traditional and nutritious meals roviding onsumer hoie and stimulating ometition. - Eating and meeting areas, small gathering laes - a ubli library - government offies - ortable ubli swimming ool - and so on. The satial-temoral use of the smalllex sae and immediate environs (add-ons available to additional informal servie roviders), will: - eliminate the threat of theft at the smalllexes; - redue the DVD irate eonomy; - build new audienes for film and TV aross the ountry; - extend the reah of advertisers to new onsumers reviously exluded from the inema grid; - bring more eole into the formal, taxed, leisure eonomy; - onnet eduation lab PC users to the Internet and distane eduation failities; 27

28 - offer alohol-free alternatives to taverns and similar entertainments. - offer models for aetable soial behaviour in ubli saes. Where big urban multilexes are middle lass-based oerations, indiative of uward mobility, smalllexes will attrat the unemloyed and working lass, failitating the emergene of nasent urban ores around whih basi modernization imulses within eriheral zones an grow. These will be over time inrementally inororated into the national sae eonomy and failitate job reation entered on, and sinning off, the smalllexes. This will our initially via the taxes aid by the formal distributors and other suliers to ReaGile itself. Over time suh omlexes will generate suffiient turnover for VAT rating uroses, and erhas also inome tax with regard to the five owners of eah faility one tax thresholds have been reahed. Smalllexes an be used to sreen loal films made by low budget film makers who are unable to gain mass distribution through the normal hannels. This might enable them to earn a living from their rodution work and to develo a sustainable rodution areer. Smalllexes, eseially in ities offering film festivals, offer hassle-free venues for townshi sreenings without the need to rovide mobile failities. The final setion of this aer examines two low budget films in terms of both rodution and onsumtion. How low an you go? Miro-budget ethekwini Films and Indigenous Knowledge Prodution Durban Motion Pitures (DMP), a small rodution omany, makes what Philani and Bonnie Sithebe all ultra-low budget film. In Durban s blak townshis, ordinary eole live on the edge of the edge: the ultra-edge. This onstant ultra-edge-ness is artly refleted in Sithebe s film Knife- Edge, amongst others,, both in the title and the ation. We rodue films and television rogrammes that mirror and elebrate South Afrian identity. We make movies whih show the rih and olourful taestry of our ountry, films with global aeal, 14 says Sithebe. In Knife Edge, the mother who lost her hild navigates the soial edge of trauma. Ultra-low is not a marker of inferiority but a is alulated referene to Sithebe s filmmaking identity: The Sithebes oerate inside/outside the industry. The onet of ultra-low is a deliberate survival mode that the Sithebes deloy to remain ometitive in the high-risk, demanding film industry in the same sense as, for instane, ultra-low miro-roessors turn out to have a longer battery life. Ultra-low defines a situation whih seems as if no ativity is taking lae: a way to arefully avoid industry burn-out and resoure loss. A sense of eonomy derives the roess of ultra-low: Philani s ultralow strategy involves doing everything from srit to distribution Wherever there is a ga I will just fill it beause we are aware that there is no money. Not only does ultra-low budget mean 14 htt:// /argief/berigte/dailysun/2012/03/06/dk/21/dk-%20durban%20motion%20itures_1025.html 28

29 that Sithebe fills many gas, but their three-erson omany grows and shrinks as is neessary. Ultra-low hels to exlain the relationshi between loals and government: Unfortunately the eole from Arts and Culture, I don t know, I had a meeting with them last year, before umzansi ame in. I sent an asking for funding for this movie and they told me to an ontat them after Marh. In Marh I did and they had forgotten about it. Alying the model develoed by Naidoo (Fig 6), here is the exeriene of Knife Edge: Fig. 8.Value-hain diagram develoed by S. Nyokana to exlain ultra-low budget filmmaking Pusha s Love Child (2011) is a omedy written and direted by Vivian Moodley. Moodley exlains that he has done a lot of work that has soial relevane whih is more [his] assion. Moodley wrote the lay for Indian eole, eole of Indian origin in Durban. It is a omedy set in the 1970s in the Indian ommunity about a female teenager from a farm who is fored to move to town following her mother s death. The film rovokes dialogue on loally relevant issues suh as Indian religious sensibilities, remarital sex and regnany out of wed lok, sexual identity and the 29

30 ulture of soiety in Durban, and the fast moving ity versus bakward rural life. The two gay men in the movie dislay the metroolis ideals, as one would not be as forthoming in the rural areas about sexuality. The naivety of Pusha ontrasted to these men is a omment on the different ultures of Indian South Afrians. The loalisation of these themes is ahieved by the use of distintly Durban-style language, ostume and the ontextualising of the film in ultural terms familiar to the larger Indian ommunity in Durban and surrounding areas. Though Moodley has had no training in sritwriting or direting, he sees his trum ard as his grounded-ness in the Durban and Indian South Afrian ommunity. He says he has soial relevane. Moodley s rojets are wholly indeendently funded. Pusha s Love Child had a budget of R , ommissioned by DSTV s Mzansi Magi Channel. Aording to Moodley the big hallenge was that the budget for the movie was grossly inadequate. Loation-wise, Most of the movie was shot in my aartment. Furthermore there are no ators so we had to train them. The film was shot under the Durban Motion Pitures (DMP) label, with fellow Durban filmmakers Bonnie and Philani Sithebe heling with the rodution and ost-rodution. Moodley kees going beause it is not immediate sales that drive his vision, but a onern with stories that need to be told. The value hain looks like this: Fig 9. Value hain analysis In Conlusion The above two examles, from the 8 value hain ase studies onduted so far, in light of the above disussion as a whole, reveal that the ReaGile rojet would greatly advane state develomental oliy in the following ways: 30