They say that ‘local is lekker’, but that’s been a hard saying to prove when it comes to the film market. South Africans have been brought up on Hollywood, and it seems it’s pretty hard to convince our audiences to watch anything with a local twang – and that’s where Indigenous Film Distribution come in. They see it as their mission to “profitably deliver African content that resonates with Africans……providing growth opportunities for local film makers”, and it’s a strategy that seems to be working! Whether the average movie-goer realises it or not, slowly local indigenous films are creeping into our theatres! If you look at the list of titles, you’ll be amazed at how many local productions there’ve been right under our noses, and even more surprising is how many of the titles you’ll recognise. And while there’s definitely the equivalent of Hollywood pulp on the local scene, there are some very promising South African directors out there too.
So congratulations – and thank you – to Helen Kuun and her team at Indigenous for believing in us. We have so many great stories to tell, we just need someone to listen!