Tag Archives: Denis Lillie

Cape Film Commission shoots Minister Winde down re film funding!

The Cape Film Commission, promoting filmmaking in Cape Town and surrounds and assisting production companies with permits for shoots, has publicly criticised Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism, for no longer supporting the Film Commission, and for handing over the R 4 million to Wesgro, the Western Cape Trade, Industry and Tourism development agency, reports the Cape Times.

Three months ago Minister Winde announced that monies would be allocated to Wesgro for the promotion of the Western Cape’s film industry. In making the announcement, he promised that Wesgro would ‘aggressively’ market the Western Cape as a film destination, ‘to encourage as many international block-busters and commercials to be funded in the Western Cape’, would ‘facilitate access’ to film rebates (from the DTI one assumes), encourage local ‘local content film making’, grow local film audiences, promote the Cape Town Film Studios for film and TV production, and collaborate with other local film-related bodies.

Cape Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie also criticised the Minister’s support of ‘Search for Sugar Man’, produced by a foreign filmmaker, but shot locally, and having been nominated for and winning the Academy Awards’ Oscar for Best Documentary.  He is quoted as saying that the Minister is ‘promoting a foreign film rather than using public money to support the commission in its promotion of the local (film) industry‘.

The Cape Film Commission took 25 local filmmakers to the Berlin film festival and the European film market in February.  This month it is taking 24 filmmakers to the Tribeca film festival in New York, and 20 filmmakers will be taken to Cannes in May.  The Cape Film Commission is considering legal action against the Minister, for breaching a promise of funding until 2015.  The Minister has not commented due to the legal action being taken by the Cape Film Commission.

While we have the highest regard for Minister Winde, we cannot understand why he is placing so much faith in Wesgro. In the 11 months since taking over Tourism marketing of the Western Cape from Cape Town Routes Unlimited, there has been zero visible action and result.  For an economy very badly hit by Seasonality both in Winter and during the early summer months, every marketing action possible is essential to help the tourism and hospitality industry survive the forthcoming winter!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Charlize Theron puts Cape Town on the map in ‘Mad Max:The Fury’!

Charlize Theron is causing a stir in Cape Town, currently filming the latest ‘Mad Max: The Fury’. She is attracting attention at local eateries, with her ultra-short hair, and her baby Jackson and mother Gerda in tow.

Charlize has been seen eating at Bistrot Bizerca, Beluga, and Café Caprice, and drinking imported champagne, a shame given our country’s excellent bubblies, as will be on show at the Cap Classique and Champagne Festival in Franschhoek on Saturday and Sunday.

South Africa is increasingly attractive to international film makers, and the new ‘Mad Max’ movie is one of the largest productions to be filmed here.  ‘Safe House’, with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, was almost exclusively filmed in Cape Town, whereas ‘Mad Max’ has been extensively filmed in Namibia.  Other big film productions have been attracted to our country’s beautiful locations, competitive pricing, favourable exchange rate, and talent , which have also included ‘Chronicle‘, ‘Blood Diamond’, and ‘Lord of War’.  The film industry generates R7 billion per annum to the economy. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) incentive makes it 40% cheaper to shoot in South Africa than in Europe, reports the Sunday Times, encouraging large-budget international film and TV productions, which not only create employment for our film industry crew, but also help to market our country to cinema goers around the world.

The Cape Town Film Commission has seen a 20% increase in enquiries for film and TV shoots in the past year, and the Cape’s film industry was valued at R5 billion in the past financial year.  With the Cape Town Film Studios, and its abundance of beautiful location, Cape Town could become one of the top five film production locations, according to the Cape Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie.

Having actors like Charlize Theron in Cape Town, snapped by the paparazzi and featured in international magazines, as well as their roles in international movies, are excellent opportunities for Brand Cape Town to be marketed internationally.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Cape Town tourism rocks in new Coldplay ‘Paradise’ music video!

A new music video for song ‘Paradise’ was shot in Cape Town and the Karoo, in-between the Cape Town and Johannesburg concerts of the alternative rock band Coldplay last week, reports The Times.  The music video is said to showcase the “natural beauty and vibrant culture of Cape Town and the Western Cape”, and could have an important tourism benefit.

The Cape Town Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie received a call from the band’s production company Cinergy the day after the Cape Town concert, requesting assistance with permission for filming on the following two days. The filming took place in the first week of summer in Cape Town, in perfect weather conditions.

The music video, for new Coldplay album Mylo Xyloto, is expected to be broadcast on MTV and other music video platforms, and will be an unusual way of marketing Cape Town, at no cost to the city’s tourism authorities.  Provincial Minister of Tourism, Alan Winde, said that it was ‘great news’ that the band had enjoyed being in South Africa. “It will also give a much needed boost of confidence for Cape Town tourism,” he added.

In a Kfm radio interview with drummer Will Champion, he used the word ‘beautiful’ a number of times to describe what an impact Cape Town had made on the band, the highlight being their trip up Table Mountain. He said that the city ‘was the ideal introduction to Africa’ for the band, it being their first visit to the continent.  He praised the ‘beautiful stadium’ in which they performed to a crowd of 50000 fans.

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin expressed his satisfaction with the shoot, and the ability of Cinergy, the Cape Town Film Commission, and the city’s film permit office to organise the shoot in such a short time. “It’s so much sunnier and warmer than where we come from”, Martin told the Johannesburg concert-goers, after Champion recommended shooting the music video in this country.  For the final part of the shoot, the band wore elephant masks at the Johannesburg concert.

The Cape Town location for the ‘Paradise’ Coldplay music video could not have been better chosen!

POSTSCRIPT 11/10: Cinergy Producer Amanda says that the Cape Town film locations are under wraps until the music video is released in the next 3 – 4 weeks.

POSTSCRIPT 19/10: The fabulous new ‘Paradise’ music video has been released today.  It tells the story of an ‘elephant’ leaving London, and flying to Cape Town, enjoying the city, and then unicycling in Paarl and in the Karoo (locations unspecified), but clearly on a game reserve, with buck and a giraffe for company.  It ends with scenes shot at the concert in Johannesburg, at which all band members wear elephant masks. The music video could not have been shot in a better location to match the ‘Paradise’ song title!  We say: You don’t need an advertising campaign for Cape Town, you need Coldplay!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Cape Town ‘world-class film-friendly city’, reels in new film productions

Two major film productions are to be filmed in Cape Town soon, not only benefiting the local film industry, but the tourism industry too.  This will help to establish the film industry in Cape Town as ‘one of the world’s most respected filming and TV destinations’, said the Cape Town Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie, reports the Cape Times.

‘The History of Great Britain’ will be filmed by an American company, and Cape Town has been chosen for the filming as ‘the city’s geography was similar to that of Britain‘.   ‘Labyrinth’ will be shot in the city later this month by internationally acclaimed director Scott Ridley.  In addition, a coup is the filming of a 22-series TV series ‘Law and Order’ from March next year, a revenue boost for the city of R66 million.

Lillie said that the local film industry employs 12500 staff, and contributes R5,5 billion to the Cape economy.  Lillie expects the value of the industry to grow in the next year. The Cape Film Commission is also working in distributing films of local filmmakers through trade agreements with other ‘film capital cities’ such as Hong Kong, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Mumbai.  The support received from the Cape Town Film Permit Office, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape provincial government has ‘enabled Cape Town to become a world-class film-friendly city’, Lillie said.

There is a possibility that the filming of the completion of the latest James Bond movie may move from India to Cape Town, it was reported last week.  It is hoped that ‘Carte Blanche’, the latest James Bond book, will become a movie too, and will be filmed in Cape Town.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage