| Cinema of South Africa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 857 (2010)[1] |
| • Per capita | 1.9 per 100,000 (2010)[1] |
| Main distributors | Ster-Kinekor 38.8% Nu-Metro 35.7% Uip 21.7%[2] |
| Produced feature films (2016)[3] | |
| Total | 28 |
| Number of admissions (2011)[4] | |
| Total | 22,400,000 |
| Gross box office (2016)[3] | |
| Total | R1.14 billion |
| National films | R69 million (6%) |
Thecinema ofSouth Africa refers to the films andfilm industry of South Africa. Films have been made in English andAfrikaans (List of Afrikaans-language films). Many foreign films have been produced about South Africa, including many involving race relations.
The first South African film to achieve international acclaim and recognition was the 1980 comedyThe Gods Must Be Crazy,written,produced and directed byJamie Uys. Set in theKalahari, it told the story about how life in the community ofBushmen is changed when aCokebottle, thrown out of anairplane, suddenly lands from the sky. Despite the fact that the film presented an incorrect perspective of theKhoisan san people, by framing them as aprimitive society enlightened by the modernity of a falling Coke bottle. The lateJamie Uys, who wrote and directedThe Gods Must Be Crazy, also had success overseas in the 1970s with his filmsFunny People andFunny People II, similar to the TV seriesCandid Camera in the United States.Leon Schuster'sYou Must Be Joking! films are in the same genre, and were popular among the white population of South Africa duringapartheid.
Another high-profile film portraying South Africa wasDistrict 9 in 2009. Directed byNeill Blomkamp, a native South African, and produced byThe Lord of the Rings trilogy directorPeter Jackson, theaction/science-fiction film depicts a sub-class of alien refugees forced to live in theslums ofJohannesburg in what many saw as a creative allegory forapartheid. The film was a critical and commercial success worldwide, and was nominated for fourAcademy Awards, includingBest Picture, at the82nd Academy Awards.
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The first film studio in South Africa,Killarney Film Studios, was established in 1915 inJohannesburg by American business tycoonIsidore W. Schlesinger when he traveled to South Africa against his family's wishes after he read about the discovery ofgold inWitwatersrand and was interested in exploring what he could find.[5]
During the 1910s and 1920s, a significant amount of South African films were made in or aroundDurban. These films often made use of the dramatic scenery available in ruralKwaZulu-Natal, particularly theDrakensberg region. KwaZulu-Natal also served as the location for historical films such asDe Voortrekkers (1916) andThe Symbol of Sacrifice (1918). American filmmakerLorimer Johnston directed several films in the area in the late 1910s which starred American actressesEdna Flugrath andCaroline Frances Cooke. Despite the participation of Johnson, Flugrath and Cooke, these were South African productions featuring local actors and stories.
A notable theme in early South African cinema was the ethic confrontation betweenBoer andBritish South Africans stemming from theSecond Boer War.[6]
Sarie Marais, directed byJoseph Albrecht, the first South African sound film and Afrikaans-language sound film, was released in 1931.[7] Subsequent sound releases such asDie Wildsboudjie (1948), a 1949Sarie Marais remake, andDaar doer in die bosveld (1950) continued to cater primarily to white, Afrikaans-speaking audiences.
African Film Productions produced four musical films from 1949-1951:African Jim,The Magic Garden,Song of Africa andZonk!
The 1950s saw an increased use of South African locations and talent by international filmmakers. British co-productions likeCoast of Skeletons (1956) and American co-productions likeThe Cape Town Affair (1967) reflected a growing trend of shooting in real locations, rather than using backlots.
From 2009, there was an increased use of South African locations and talent by international film studios. US productions likeDistrict 9 (2009),Chronicle (2012),Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015),The Dark Tower (2017),Tomb Raider (2018),The Kissing Booth (2018),Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018),Escape Room (2019) andBloodshot (2020) reflect a growing trend by large international houses to useCape Town,Johannesburg and other South African locations for their film productions.[8][9]
Jacqueline Maingard at the University of Bristol has written about the history of film in South Africa.
Listed alongside each distributor are the studios they represent:
Here are several notable South African filmmaker's that have added to South Africa's cinema history:
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