28 April 2023
- The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) has officially launched the Eastern Cape Investment Film Fund, offering support to film and television production companies looking for gap funding for shooting in the Eastern Cape. The fund was first introduced in 2019 as part of the province’s drive to attract film investments and make Eastern Cape a ‘Film Destination of Choice’.
Announcing the 2023/24 budget allocation in the 2023 Budget Vote, MEC for the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, honourable Mlungisi Mvoko, highlighted that “the ECDC has in the last four years invested approximately R23 million in film production localisation incentives which in turn attracted R389 million worth of investment into the province, creating over 6 934 short term jobs with 572 SMMEs benefiting during the production phases of the projects shot”.
The Fund is created to stimulate the development of the Eastern Cape film industry into an economic viable sector for the province. While the fund prioritises Eastern Cape based film production companies, it is open to national and international production companies targeting to shoot their films in the province. The Fund further aims at developing the film industry value chain to realise continuous investments, job creation and skills development within the Eastern Cape.
To qualify for the Fund, the production company must have atleast 60% of the principal photography of the project shot in the Eastern Cape. The total ECDC investment must be spent within the Eastern Cape. Further, the applicant must have atleast 70% of the required funding secured from other funders. 20% or more of heads of departments for the film must be sourced from within the Eastern Cape and projects must include a training and skills transfer programme. For more details on funding guidelines and application forms, visit
www.ecdc.co.za/applicationforms
Issued by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation