Peer-to-Peer Exchange for the Development of the Film Industries in Uganda and in South Africa
Between February 23 and 27 2021, Uganda and South Africa took part in an online peer-to-peer exchange to discuss the development of their respective film sectors. This meeting was part of the EU/UNESCO project on providing “Support for New Regulatory Frameworks to Strengthen the Cultural and Creative Industries and Promote South to South Cooperation.” Through these sessions, professionals and public officials in the film sector from both countries shared information on their regulatory frameworks and measures for the industry.
Representatives of South Africa’s Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture, the National Film and Video Foundation and other organizations attended the peer-to-peer exchange to discuss topics such as history, stimulations, training programmes, distribution and exhibition in South Africa’s film industry. The South African government has been actively supporting the sector since 1994, when the newly elected government with the African National Congress created a culture task force, the Arts and Culture Task Group (ACTAG), to highlight the importance of the film sector as well as other creative industries. South Africa has since adopted regulations and tax regimes to give advantages to the sector and signed co-production treaties with Canada, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Netherlands to grow its audiences. During the exchange, several South African representatives highlighted the importance of collaborating within the continent.
Some of the South African experts also mentioned the severe impact of COVID-19 on the industry. They stressed that due to the pandemic, several cinemas had almost gone bankrupt, which made 2020-2021 some of the hardest years for the sector in the last 20 years. However, they also noted that the film sector is still growing and freelancing has picked up, in view of the fact that audiences have been watching more television since the start of the pandemic. In this vein, the South African government shared their plans to provide support and solidarity funds for the industry to help relieve hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I think this engagement with South Africa– to be honest– has been long overdue. I think this was an engagement that should have happened much earlier.
Polly Kamukama, Ugandan National Expert
Agents from Uganda’s Ministry for Gender, Labour and Social Development, film practitioners and national experts from the EU/ UNESCO project attended the peer-to-peer exchange with three core objectives in mind: to share experiences about the film industry, to benchmark and contextualize the sector in Uganda, and to ensure the improvement of film regulation and policy. During the sessions, the Ugandan representatives were able to ask questions and seek advice from the South African delegation. The Ugandan national expert, Mr. Polly Kakumaka, noted that Uganda has much to do in terms of funding. Unlike South Africa, there is no public funding scheme specific to cinema. South African counterparts shared details of the provenance and criteria of their public funding scheme, and gave insights and advice so as to advance unofficial co-productions in Uganda and starting investment.
In addition to the peer-to-peer exchange, UNESCO international expert for this project, Ms. Jeon Yoonhyung, gave a presentation on the structure, characteristics and responsibilities of the Korean Film Council. During the presentation, participants were able to contextualize the development of the Korean film industry and compare it to their respective countries.
The peer-to-peer learning will continue between Uganda and other countries on the African continent. These exchanges will assist the Ugandan team in developing relevant, tested and innovative measures for its national film industry, which have been determined through various activities undertaken through the project, including national participative consultation meetings with multiple stakeholders in the film sector, research and reviews of the film industry.