The Copyright Amendment Bill proposes that actors and performers be paid based on the financial success of film and advertising projects they appear in, rather than based on performance and usage as is the international standard.
This method of remuneration is not feasible, and will lead to the demise of our fledgling and fast-growing film industry. The proposed remuneration scheme is patently impractical, as the financial success of a project cannot be predicted beforehand when budgets are finalised, and the possibility of a financial loss is always a risk.
Going against international best practice in this regard will discourage international production houses from filming in South Africa, and lead to the loss of thousands of jobs across the film and advertising production value chain.
Industries to be affected include Long Form Feature Companies, Film Commercial Companies, Stills Production Companies, Advertising Agencies, Crew Agencies, Talent & Model Agencies, Public Locations & Location Agencies, Post-Production Companies, Music Production Companies and Voice Artists.
South Africa, and Cape Town in particular, have emerged as premier film production destinations in recent years, with a multitude of foreign productions taking place here, contributing to job creation throughout the entire value chain.
In addition, the loss of foreign productions will lead to loss of income in the hospitality sector, affecting even more jobs.
This is another issue in an extremely flawed bill that is not supported by the majority of performers, and definitely not by the film production industry.
The Western Cape Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism will be deliberating on its final mandate to the NCOP this Friday, and the DA plans to oppose the bill in its entirety, as it does not properly represent the interest of our artists and creators.
The details of the meeting are as follows:
Date: Friday, 1 September 2023
Time: 09:00
The meeting can be followed live at: www.youtube.com/@westerncapeprovincialparli4642
