by DEZI RORICH
South African Film Topper Takes ‘ Holistic ’ Approach
by DEZI RORICH
Ramagoshi : Gov ’ t should fund ‘ the whole filmmaking journey ’
Mmabatho Ramagoshi , chairperson of South Africa ’ s National Film and Video Foundation , is a woman with a mission .
The government set up the NFVF in the mid-90s , and gave it the task of spearheading the growth of the local biz in an equitable manner . Ramagoshi now intends to shift up a gear in order to turbo charge the org ’ s progress .
“ Our efforts have always been toward redressing past imbalances of S . A ., but our limited funding means that no matter how much financial assistance we give first-time filmmakers , it still does not cover their studio costs , and five years later they are still on our ‘ books ’ because they can ’ t raise additional funding ,” she says .
In order to address this issue , Ramagoshi aims to feed the filmmaking value chain “ holistically .”
“ If we approved their start-up funding , based on a good script , we need to design a mechanism to fund the whole filmmaking journey ,” she says .
The agency ’ s chief remit of transformation is complex as it straddles both the issues of commercial and personal empowerment , but Ramagoshi believes that the commercial arms of government , such as the Department of Trade and Industry , and the Industrial Development Corporation , a government bank , should carry the cost “ after the NFVF has given them the gems .”
“ Our focus isn ’ t on commercial viability . We don ’ t expect to make a profit from the projects ,” she says . “ Our imperative is to develop talent and that will happen when South Africans can tell stories in their own languages .”
That is no easy task as South Africa , a vastly multi-cultural nation , has 11 official languages .
A big picture thinker , Ramagoshi has a vision to create “ film cities ” throughout the nine provinces of South Africa . Acknowledging the steep bill for such an undertaking , she says , “ This will have to be fully-funded by government , or a PPP ( public-private partnership ).”
Another option would be to use mobile cinemas to reach far-flung communities , and that could become a reality by plugging into programs that other government departments already operate , she says .
ORIGINAL Publisher
Mmabatho Ramagoshi 38 | WGSA MAG July 2013