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Gairoonisa Paleker The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Creating a ‘black film industry’: State intervention and films for African audiences in South Africa, 1956-1990 by Gairoonisa Paleker Town Thesis Presented for the Degree of Cape DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPY of in the Department of Historical Studies UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN February 2009 University Contents 1. Acknowledgements 2. Abstract 3. Chapter 1: Introduction P. 1 4. Chapter 2: Film Production and Exhibition for African Audiences: Historical Continuities and Parallels P. 28 5. Chapter 3: Creating a “black film industry”: State Subsidies and film production and exhibition for African audiences, 1956-1990 P. 59 Town 6. Chapter 4: Representations of the urban and the rural in B-Scheme Films P. 100 7. Chapter 5: ‘Crime doesn’t pay’: Moralising through the B-Scheme Cape P. 132 8. Chapter 6: Oppositional Filmmaker:of Subverting the subsidy P. 171 9. Chapter 7: Conclusion P. 203 10. Bibliography P. 217 11. Appendix 1: Interview Questions for filmmakers P. 236 University 12. Appendix 2: Interview Questions for actors P. 238 Gairoonisa Paleker Thesis Title: Creating a ‘black film industry’: State intervention and films for African audiences in South Africa, 1956-1990 Abstract This thesis examines one aspect of cinema in South Africa, namely, the historical construction of a ‘black film industry’ and the development of a ‘black’ cinema viewing audience. It does so by focusing on films produced specifically for an African audience using a state subsidy. This subsidy was introduced in 1972 and was separate from the general or A-Scheme subsidy that was introduced in 1956 for the production of English- and Afrikaans-language or ‘white’ films. This thesis is a critical assessment of the actual film products that the B-Scheme produced. The films are analysed within the broader political, economic and social context of their productionTown and exhibition. The films are used as historical sources for the way in which African identities were constructed. Through critical analyses of the selected films, the thesis examines the manner in which African people, culture, gender and family relations, as well asCape class and/or political aspirations were represented in film. Africans had very little opportunity or power to represent themselves and where this had been possible, it was within the ideologicalof and political boundaries set by the apartheid government. The central argument is that state intervention in films for Africans has remained constant since colonial rule. The degree and forms of intervention have varied over the years, but the state – whether colonial, segregationist or apartheid – has played an important interventionist role in the development of a ‘blackUniversity film industry’ and film viewing culture among Africans. This interventionist role has been guided and informed by political exigencies throughout the period of this study. The interventionist role of the state has also impacted negatively on the organic emergence of an indigenous African film industry and film culture. These have instead been shaped by political, economic and social forces exerted by those in political power. Given the unique racial segregation of South African society and the oppressive nature of apartheid rule, opposition to this cultural manipulation has been limited. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere thanks to and acknowledgement of the following institutions and individuals for their assistance and support throughout doctoral studies: To the Harry Crossley Foundation for the Research Fellowship which has provided the necessary financial assistance throughout the duration of my doctoral studies. The University of Cape Town has also provided financial assistance with the Senior Entrance Merit Award. Linda Vranas and her staff at the Postrgraduate Funding Office have been efficient and helpful at every stage of this process. To the Harry Oppenheimer Institute which made possible a research-visit to the archives in Pretoria with the Research and Conference Award. To the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) for awarding me the Small Grants for Thesis Writing. But more importantly, I wish to thank CODESRIA and its various departments for contributing to my scholarly development through participation in the numerous workshops and institutes organised underTown its auspices. At the outset of doctoral studies, my supervisors cautioned me that a PhD was one of the most difficult academic undertakings in anyone’s life. I thought they exaggerated. I was wrong. As the process of researching and writing this thesis progressed I had to bow to the greater wisdom of my two supervisors. Professor Vivian Bickford-Smith and Associate-Professor Richard Mendelsohn have been two unwavering beacons of lightCape throughout the course of my graduate studies. They have guided, encouraged and supervised my scholarly development from Honours through to PhD. I wish to acknowledge sincereof gratitude for their guidance, support, encouragement and assistance, especially during the course of researching and writing this thesis. To, Dr Lauren van Vuuren, many sincere thanks. She has been a friend, supporter, colleague and reader of numerous drafts. Taryn and Mark Uhlman have provided friendship, a home and generosity in abundance throughout the various research visits to Gauteng. Thandikile Nyembezi has been wonderful as a translator and sounding board. Trevor Moses of the National Film, Video and Sound Archives in Pretoria, has been generous with his assistance and knowledge whenever I visited the archives, emailed or called him. Freddie Ogterop of the Western Cape Library Services hasUniversity also been tremendously supportive of the research – generous with his time, knowledge and whatever film material he has. The staff of the various libraries of the University of Cape Town have been similarly helpful and supportive. Ilana van Schalkwyk and Brenda Beneke of the Department of Historical Studies have listened to countless complaints and helped smooth the path many times. Dawood Sadien and Abbas Rumaney have provided friendship, mentoring, guidance and support for as long as I have known them. My mother, brothers and their families make home a haven and for that I thank them. My father set me on my course by fighting my first battle for education. His memory and teachings guide me, always. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance, support and kindness of all the people who have provided information in both formal interviews as well as informal chats and via e-mail. Chapter One Introduction Film shows in South Africa date back to the late nineteenth century. It has however not been possible to speak of a national South African cinema until the demise of apartheid. Historically, cinema has mirrored the racial divisions of South African society in which everything from social welfare services and education to leisure activities and amenities were strictly separated on the basis of race. State support for a national film industry was similarly separated with the introduction of differential state subsidies for film production. The first state subsidy which was introduced in 1956 was geared towards the promotion of a film industry and film culture for ‘white films’.Town Within this there were distinctions between films in English and Afrikaans, with Afrikaans-language films predominating in the award of subsidies. A separate subsidy, known as the B-Scheme was introduced in 1972 specifically for what becameCape known as ‘black films’.1 These were films in an African language with a predominantlyof African cast and aimed at an African audience. This thesis examines one aspect of cinema in South Africa, namely, the historical construction of a ‘black film industry’ and the development of a ‘black’ cinema-viewing audience. It does so by focusing on films produced specifically for an African audience using a state subsidy.University These films were produced and largely directed by white South Africans who were not all trained filmmakers.2 There were two primary conditions under which the subsidy was awarded. Firstly, any film qualifying for funding under the B- 1 The terms white, black and African are used in very specific ways in this thesis. Unless indicated by the use of quotation marks, black is used in a general sense to indicate all non-white South Africans. These would include what were identified under apartheid as Indians, Coloureds, and Africans. In more specific instances I use African when speaking only of this specific group of South Africans. 2 As it will become evident in later chapters, many of the people producing films for the African market came from various professional backgrounds that were far removed from filmmaking. Their film output under the B-Scheme subsidy was the first time any of them had attempted producing and directing films. There were also Africans such as Simon Sabela, who were directing some of the B-Scheme films but this under the patronage of white-owned production companies such as Heyns Films. 1 Scheme had to have three quarters of the dialogue in one or other African language and secondly, seventy-five percent of all actors had to be African. The state did not require submissions of a script or film treatment and the final arbiter of whether the films were suitable viewing material for Africans was the Censor Board. Here too censorship was politicised and operated on a differential basis with African audiences often being categorised with children or in some cases the feeble-minded. The implication of this is that the state actively wished to control the ideological content of film products aimed at Africans.
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