The National Film and Video Foundation will from 28^th of June until 6^th July conduct the final round of industry consultations. The objective of the sessions is to have a final round of input in order for the Foundation to finalise the criteria.

The criteria has been in development since 2009 and its various versions have been released periodically in 2010 and 2011. “As we head toward the finalisation of the process, it is important to revisit the objective of the criteria,” says Aifheli Mkhwanya, NFVF Head of Policy & Research.

The criteria will apply to:

• Certification of national films which includes official co-production certification
• Certification of the nationality of films for distribution purposes;
• South African Film and Television Awards
• Certification for South African production or official co production which qualifies for section 12 (o) exemption introduced by the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bills 2011, a replacement of the previous section 24F of the Income Tax Act.

Ms Makhwanya further explains that “the finalisation of the criteria is critical as it will be used in numerous programmes and introduces an element of self-assessment prior to the submission of an application to the NFVF. This will improve turnaround times and also introduce an element of certainty especially for official co-productions.”

The main areas of discussion with a view to reach consensus on the way forward with the industry is but not limited to:

• the status of minority co-productions,
• weighing of key creative points, and
• the inclusion of gender points.

It is however anticipated that the changes are likely to be on the weighing of points rather than the actual criteria as there is consensus that the policy is long overdue. The NFVF urges the industry to familiarise itself with the point system. After this round of consultations, the NFVF will publish a final criteria document that will be used for all relevant applications. A date of implementation will be announced in due course.

Click here to download the SA Film Criteria: http://nfvf.co.za/document/sa-film-criteria-2012

The consultations will be held as follows:

Port Elizabeth- 28 June 2012

Cape Town- 29 June 2012

Durban- 03 July 2012

Johannesburg- 06 July 2012

Please take note that the venues will be communicated in due course.

For queries or further details contact Ms Mawande Seti on mawandes@nfvf.co.za on or before 26 June 2012.

Issued by Naomi Mokhele