Tourism in South Africa, Repositioning the Country’s Brand

Bianca Mpahlaza with Minister Tasneem Essop

Photo: Mark Visser, CFC
Mark, Nonki and Madineyah

Mark will be leaving the Cape Film Commission to swap countries, his last working day being Friday, 28 September 2007.

He has chosen the UK where he’s planning to spent most probably two years before returning to Cape Town (Mark says he’s hooked on Cape Town .. but who knows we’ll see that after the two years are over).

It was always with pleasure when talking to and corresponding with Mark, most of our News info on the CFC were edited by him. We, at On Set Images, wish him an exiting and challenging stay.

Mark will be one of those ambassadors to South Africa our country can be proud of.

Go well Mark!
Rudi

Cape Film Commission AGM reflects a rapidly growing industry

Numerous announcements were made and initiatives lid on the table on 25 September at the CFC’s Annual General Meeting. The AGM was held at the President Hotel in Bantry Bay and was also attended by the MEC for Economic and Environmental Development, Tasneem Essop.

A successful past year was reported back by CFC Commissioner, Laurence Mitchell, with highlights being the Impact Assessment report that was launched in March of this year. This study was undertaken due to the lack of statistics on the Western Cape industry which made it very difficult for any industry players to gauge success.

Photo: Mark Visser, CFC

MEC for Economic and Environmental Development,
Tasneem Essop
hidden beghind flowers handed over by
Bianca Mpahlaza,
Cape Film Commission

The most exciting announcements were not from the past year’s report back though, but by Guest speaker MEC Tasneem Essop, who ensured the industry that film is now considered a priority industry for the Western Cape Government, showing great potential in the development of small business enterprises. Another significant announcement was the much anticipated start of development of the Dreamworld Studios, which has been held back by various political, ecological and legal issues. The Minister ensured attending members that lawyers have been given a deadline of Friday, 28 September 2007 to finalise the legalities and transfer the required funds to start development.

The future also looks very exciting for the CFC and the film industry. The CFC will be initiating its ‘Green’ Campaign that will build a stronger awareness around environmentally friendly production practices. This also marks the CFC as a pioneer amongst film commissions on an international level, being one of the first to address the issue.

CFC’s new board members were also voted on and announced and as such the CFC’s Board for 2007/2008 is as such:

Corporate Representatives	Gary Edwardes	Waterfront Studios
Training and Development	Karen Lightbody	Nautilus Crew
	Lizo Kalipa	Community Video Education Trust
HDI	Nezile Ntutha	CVET
	Shukri Toefy	West Fort Productions
SMME Representatives	Janette De Villiers	Groundglass
	Jacky Lourence	Get the Picture
	Marlow De Mardt	Do Productions

The CFC congratulates all these new Board Members and look forward to their valuable input and guidance in what looks to be another great year of growth for the Western Cape’s Film industry. To all the other nominees, the CFC appreciates the willingness and energy to drive this industry forward and look forward to working with these individuals in other ways in the future.

The CFC would also like to say a special thank you to Mike Smit of Condor Cape Town, who has successfully chaired the Board for three consecutive years. Your guidance, support and contribution to the CFC’s successes has been immeasurable.