US movie tariffs could cripple South African industry

While United States President Donald Trump’s proposed tariff on Hollywood won’t impact local entertainment costs, it could significantly affect those working in South Africa’s film industry.

This is according to Commercial Producers Association South Africa CEO Bobby Amm, who told Cape Talk that US filmmakers are increasingly moving production outside of America to cut costs.

“For about the last thirty years, the US has become increasingly aware that production has been moving out of America because other countries offer better value for money and film incentives,” she said.

“The industry in Los Angeles has shrunk by about 40%, but they still do the bulk of the work and their exports far exceed their imports.”

On Monday, Trump threatened to impose “a 100% Tariff on any and all” movies made outside US borders, including those made in South Africa.

Amm says if the US were to apply a 100% tariff on film imports, it would double the cost of producing content in South Africa for American production houses.

“This wouldn’t fall on us but on the American producers, suddenly making it twice as expensive to produce their film here,” she said.

It would also make exporting South African-made films into the United States just as expensive.

She argues that if this incentivised American producers to move their production back home, it would significantly impact the robust film industries built up in cities like Cape Town.

“Thousands of people and hundreds of companies supply services to production companies. This includes everyone from a crew member to someone making coffee on set,” she said.

“The biggest issue we have is that most people who work in the industry are freelancers, meaning they go from one job to the next, and there isn’t any sort of employment certainty.”

Amm says that removing access to major feature films would result in people losing work they previously may have had, making it particularly difficult to cope in the off-season.

“Our immediate concern is for suppliers, crew, and talent who rely on this industry for their livelihood,” she added.

Recent examples of American films shot in South Africa include Prime Video’s G20 with Viola Davis, and Canal+’s Huntington, starring Glen Powell, Ed Harris, and Margaret Qualley.

Netflix’s live adaptation of One Piece was filmed primarily in South Africa, and parts of Prime Video’s hit show The Wheel of Time were also filmed on location in South Africa.

Other US streaming giants and production studios also produce films on South African shores.

Cape Town’s film hub

Cape Town Film Studios (CTFS), located in Faure, Cape Town, has been central to the city’s rise as a production hotspot.

CTFS, which opened in 2010, says it is the “first world-class, custom-built, Hollywood-style film studio complex in Africa” and has been rated the best film studio in the developing world.

Its construction was the first and largest investment in long-term film infrastructure in South Africa’s history, and it employed 98,000 people in its first ten years of operation.

Facilities include 8,745m² of soundproof stages spread across five buildings, three workshops, and three life-size ships used as sets.

Some notable credits include the first four seasons of Black Sails, Brothers Grimsby, Long Walk to Freedom, Mad Max: Fury Road, Tomb Raider, and Outlander.

However, the studio was most notably used for the live-action remake of One Piece, the best-selling Japanese graphic novel — or manga — with over 500 million copies sold worldwide since 1997.

The success of its first eight-episode season resulted in Netflix quickly ordering a second season of the show, which is expected to launch later this year.

Not only was it filmed in Cape Town, but One Piece also extensively used local actors, stunt performers, and production crews.

While th US hasn’t announced firm plans for tariffs on TV shows and series produced outside of the country’s borders, such a move could be devastating for the production industry in South Africa.