The IPO represents, protects and promotes the interests of independent South African film, television and digital media producers and, in turn, all who work in and are suppliers to the industry value chain.

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City places freeze on tariffs for filming in Cape Town

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The City of Cape Town is placing a freeze on all Safety and Security tariffs for filming within the city for its new financial year. This includes costs for Traffic Services, Metro Police and Law Enforcement for the 2022/23 period. Parking tariffs will, however, remain. This is the third time in recent years that the City has frozen tariffs to assist the industry during difficult times.

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith said it was important for the municipality to assist the film industry after it was severely impacted by Covid-19 pandemic. “The City intends on providing support to this industry, which creates thousands of jobs across a broad cross section of the local economy,” Smith said. “We believe that, no matter how insignificant they may be perceived, the freezing of tariffs after the 2017 downturn contributed to getting the industry back on its feet and into a recovery phase. It is our firm belief that by assisting the sector to reduce the costs of filming, we can contribute towards the industry getting back on its feet yet again.”

The City says it will make other announcements to assist the industry in its post COVID-19 recovery efforts. The local film industry has seen a glimmer of hope in the 2021/2022 financial year. A review of Film Permit Office records shows the number of permits issued have already surpassed the previous financial year. In that period (July 2021 – June 2022), the office issued 3 948 permits. In the same period, the Film Permit Office received more than 7 000 permit applications and some of these were during the worst restrictions.

‘While many of these did not result in a permit, this shows that filmmakers and international clients are still interested in filming in Cape Town. With some of the best expertise in the world, together with our excellent locations and world class infrastructure and the ability to make any production happen, Cape Town is set to retain its reputation as a global filming destination,’ added Smith.