The Department of Trade and Industry will have provided R100 million for the support of emerging black film-makers by early next year.
This was announced by Nelly Molokoane, director of film production at a workshop at the Durban International Film Festival.
The workshop was directed at emerging film producers who needed help accessing funding.
The South Africa Emerging Black Film-makers Incentive will have spent R100m by the end of March.
So far, it has supported 40 projects. The incentive does not cover the entire costs of production.
The department partnered with the Industrial Development Corporation, National Film and Video Foundation, SABC and provincial film commissions. “The scale of projects has been increasing since 2014. We are planning to host intense workshops in various provinces to assist film-makers."
Also on the panel with Molokoane was Rehad Desai, director of the Marikana documentary Miners Shot Down. A beneficiary of the incentive, Desai said it was important to develop the South African film industry.
“We are seeing far more films being produced since the launch of the scheme. Funding of projects happens in a much shorter time and one can go into production quicker. This also means our production companies are becoming sustainable,” said Desai.
The incentive should be more accessible, as some costs were regarded as non-qualifying, ruling out some projects with potential, he said.