Female Filmmaker Project

The Female Filmmaker Project is an initiative that was first introduced by the NFVF in 2014. In line with its objective to develop and promote the South African film and audiovisual industry, the NFVF introduced this initiative to bridge the gap in a male dominated film industry in South Africa. The opportunity to work with an experienced female owned company is sensitive with the often exploitative and gender insensitive environment for women that is beset with sexual harassment, unequal pay and long working hours on shoot days that do not cater for the safety and security, remuneration and flexible working conditions for women. The 3-year funding grant takes away the stress and anxiety associated with raising production finance from different sources. The burden to comply with mandatory requirements (including but not limited to financials, tax clearance certificates etc) is often taxing for newly established production companies by recent graduates who are navigating the business environment and the regulatory landscapes. The production of diverse new content attracts distribution deals mainly from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the only public broadcasting service provider in South Africa. Such a distribution deal for all short films is important to ensure that these films are seen by as many South Africans as possible and opens up possibilities for other forms of distribution such as video on demand and niche channels.