Cape Town: The Film Permit Office of City of Cape Town has recorded an increase in the number of filming permits that issued during the years 2023-24 financial year. A review of the statistics shows commercial shoots that still hold the spotlight but there is an up-stick in feature films.
The Film Permit surge spotlights Cape Town’s appeal as international film destination. The office issued 4,757 film permits between July 01, 2023 and June 30, 2024, a 22% increase from the 3,910 permits that issued in the preceding financial year 2022 and 2023.
Considerably, the permits for feature films, commercials, TV series, stills photography, documentary films, short films, student projects and music videos. The permit office also received bookings for more than 9,317 film locations in the same period.
Furthermore, the commercials make up the bulk of the film shoots over the last financial year, with 1,604 permits that were issued. This was followed by micro shoots at 962 permits.
Indeed, there were 168 large feature films which were shot in Cape Town and almost doubled it from the previous year.
However, the Film Industry has further boosted their efforts as the City froze the tariffs for filming in Cape Town for the fourth year. It includes zero rated fees for the deployment of metro police and traffic services to assist where road closures are required.
The freeze on Safety and Security tariffs for filming has saved the film industry nearly R700,000 in production costs.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security – Alderman JP Smith said that in the past, Cape Town attracted a lot of film productions during the summer season due to a number of factors that include beautiful long summer days.
“However, what we are seeing over the last couple of years is that filming is increasingly becoming an all-year business and this is good for both the industry and Cape Town,” said Alderman Smith.
He also said, “We are seeing more and more productions taking place in the winter months and this was the case for the concluding financial year. This is critical for an industry that contributes billions to the economy and employs over 30,000 people.”
Smith also mentioned that the Film Permit is geared to help the industry work effectively, by ensuring permits are processed timeously and providing efficient support where required.