The Zimbabwe Culture Fund Trust received its first grant from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) amounting to five billion dollars. On receipt of the amount, the Zimbabwe Culture Fund distributed 13,000 application forms throughout the country. The closing date for receipt of the completed applications was March 15, 2004. A total of 3,126 applications were received from artists requesting a total of more than three hundred billion dollars.
Disbursement of funds to successful artists has since been completed and it is hoped that the Culture Fund Trust will, upon receiving another grant make another call for applications. The following disciplines were addressed: dance, film, literary arts, music, theatre and visual arts. The Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust has over the years been battling to improve the film and television industry in this country, and has made significant progress in that respect. The National Arts Council has made significant strides over the past few years, which include, other than the birth of the Zimbabwe Culture Fund Trust, the introduction of the National Arts Merits Awards (NAMA). This is very commendable and pivotal to the development of the arts in the country.
The Corporate Sector has also been forthcoming with giants like Delta Corporation demonstrating their support to the arts sector countless times, with a more recent example being their joint venture with the National Arts Council in holding the Jikinya Dance Festival in Harare.
Film also had its small share from the grant that was unevenly disbursed by the Zimbabwe Culture Fund Trust. The film and television industry goes beyond just being classified as one of the ‘disciplines,’ to being an industry in its own right. Therefore let us carefully take a look at the Zimbabwean film and television industry. There has been an uneven playing field between established producers and independent and upcoming filmmakers when it comes to accessing funds. It is important to establish strict definitions of affiliated and non-affiliated producers, and stipulate applicable conditions of access to public funds. This will remedy any potential inequities and help encourage a diversity of voices on television and in movie theatres.
Creation of A Strong Financial Base
Safeguards are therefore needed to ensure that independent film and television producers have fair and equitable access to financing and markets in Zimbabwe and abroad. One step towards ensuring greater access to financing would be a simplified tax credit application process and more rapid receipt of benefits to producers. Taletell Entertainment is proposing that a State Owned Commercial Bank, under the strict supervision, management and control of the Central Bank of Zimbabwe, be set up specially for Independent Producers and Filmmakers to access loans and funding for their usually very highly budgeted productions. There needs to be a policy put in place which must also recognize the challenges and budget realities of producing dramas in Zimbabwe and the corporate financing needs to produce Zimbabwean programs.
The film and television industry has the potential of contributing a significant percentage to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. There can be little doubt that the Film and television industries, both in Zimbabwe and abroad, face serious challenges in the short-term fallout of traumatic international events and the resulting economic downturn. Against this backdrop, governments must play a pro-active role to minimize the negative impact of these trends. That can be achieved through policy measures aimed at strengthening the Zimbabwean film and television production sector.
One way of doing this is by establishing strong financial base from which players in the industry can access funds to use in their production projects. An active commercial bank, into which willing partners can pour their monies through which corporate investors can transact with the different film and television producers will be ideal. In the same way that the farmer needs capital and inputs for agriculture, the independent filmmaker needs funds to set in motion his projects. The film and television industry is a serious sector which needs to be taken seriously both by the state and the corporate sector, because it has the potential to earn the country foreign currency as well as reducing the unemployment rates significantly. Obviously, the film and television industry has the potential to significantly and successively create employment.
The Road Ahead
Above all, Zimbabwean producers must continue to have equitable access to financing and to their own domestic market. It is important, therefore, that existing policy mechanisms – such as fiscal incentives and corporate financing –be revised and be implemented more efficiently, in a way that benefits the film and television industry in this country while other forms of public financing are augmented and made permanent. The Film and television industry deserves its own significant and realistic allocation on the national budget, and hopefully this will be kept in mind when future national budgets are compiled. It is important for the industry to be given a special allocation, even now, after the national budget has already been presented (A special fund can be set up to address the Film and television industry).
As in the past, it is essential that Zimbabwean independent producers remain strong at home so they can seize opportunities abroad. In the current international context of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to achieve this goal.
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