The National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) is accused of inappropriately appointing council members without consultations, allocating funds to those internally connected, leading to calls for NFVF to be audited, council and staff members suspected to be conflicted to be recused from projects where they allegedly have interests.

This revelation initially emerged when Cape Town-based writer and director Weeam Williams publicly expressed her frustration with NFVF, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (Dsac). She described the situation as one of the primary causes of the South African film industry's decline, with the only national film fund, which is allegedly mismanaged and marred by nepotism.

Williams alleged that the ethos that governs the allocation of funds appeared to be driven more by “personal connections than by merit or artistic excellence", adding that this had a dire impact on the industry and oppressed talent, leaving South Africa as an underdog in the global film market.

“Dsac, it seems, turns a blind eye to this dysfunction, prioritising loyalty over transparency and feeding the entrenched elite while the broader community of filmmakers struggles with debt, school fees, rent/bond, and other fundamental commitments.

“Filmmakers and artists dedicate days, sometimes weeks, to preparing grant applications, only to watch as friends and close associates of NFVF and Dsac staff are awarded millions of rands for project funding.”

Williams highlighted that the NFVF’s annual budget of around R152.5 million and PESP (Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme) at R163 million are roughly equivalent to the budget of a single low- to mid-budget Hollywood film, arguing that filmmakers are complaining that our budgets are too low to be competitive and that in addition to that, only a few connected received funding.

She further suggested that the ministry should manage allocating funds to applicants to tackle corruption and nepotism allegations.

Among other damning allegations were that the members of the Council appointed had no industry experience and needed to have an intimate understanding of the mechanisms of the industry and that there were no consultations before the board was appointed.

Filmmaker Joel Ruiters of J Cube Entertainment and a member of the African Film DAO echoed Williams’ view that the NFVF Council selection process was entirely of "inconsistencies and dubious actions”.

“They started with the candidate interviews, which didn't contain a set list of questions or a proper scoring tool as expected. Instead, it was a panel of people with a subjective line of questioning favouring some candidates over others…

“After this farce, there is suddenly a Council announced. No shortlist, second round interviews, no public comment & no chance for objections,” said Ruiters.

He pleaded with the department to allow an external audit, which he believed would expose the rot.

“The external audit will grant a lot of filmmakers (and other industry stakeholders) much-needed clarity. For years, grant funding was allocated to a few with no transparency to most of us whose projects get continually rejected for funding,” he said.

On the PESP5 Grant Funding that was supposed to be disbursed by October 12, 2024, he argued that after the previous council was dissolved, nobody in the NFVF wanted to be responsible for disbursing those funds even though the process was completed and projects were approved for funding. He added that nothing has happened since then that has had a negative impact on the film industry.

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture insisted to IOL the council's appointment process was fair and denied that there were inconsistencies in the distribution of funding.

“The process to appoint Council members was followed according to the legislation, led by experienced secretariat members in the Department. We take all allegations seriously and encourage any concerns to be reported through formal governance channels for due process.

“The NFVF operates under strict financial and procurement policies as well as SCM governance committees, and no Council member or staff member has unilateral authority over funding decisions,” said the department’s spokesperson, Stacey-Lee Khojane.

Khojane dismissed the allegation that some of the council members were appointed to the NFVF Council despite holding a position in the Oudtshoorn Municipality, adding that the current NFVF Council was appointed in November 2024, and this appointment does not fall under the newly constituted Council's tenure.

Asked whether Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie would pursue an external independent audit or investigation into the NFVF, as requested by various film industry players, Khojane said the institution already undergoes an independent audit conducted by the Auditor-General of South Africa, stating that any further reviews or investigations would be undertaken in line with governance protocols.

She said the R163 million allocated for the PESP in the 2024 financial year not yet disbursed, would be released in early 2025, but failed to indicate which date or month.

“The financial year is 2024/25, ending March 2025. The newly appointed NFVF council was appointed in mid-November, and since then, it has been working to resolve the PESP funding issue," she said.

In addressing concerns about nepotism and corruption at the NFVF, she said a whistleblower reporting system is in place to allow stakeholders to report any unethical conduct, but this left many questions unanswered, considering that the same council and staff are accused of mismanaging funds.

Questions were sent to NFVF, but no response was received despite numerous attempts to reach them.

thabo.makwakwa@iol.co.za

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IOL EXCLUSIVE: National Film and Video Foundation faces scrutiny over nepotism and mismanagement