Soaring international demand for Cape Town as a film location

"There is not a crew or any equipment available anywhere in South Africa at the moment because of all the activity taking place in this city," said Malcolm Calderwood, head of the Cape Town Film Office.

January this year was the best month ever for filming, with the Film Office issuing 600 permits, well up on the 300 permits issued in December.

Most of the 600 permits were for photo shoots but a third were for films. Film and photo shoots in the city last month amounted to 950 shooting days, and the Film Office expects February to be even better.

Most of the commercials shot in Cape Town this season are from France, followed by Germany and Britain, with a few coming from the USA, Israel, Turkey, Italy, Belgium and Scandinavia.

Interest from France surged after a French crew made a documentary on Cape Town as an ideal location for commercials a year ago. Added to this is the value for money offered by the fall in the rand and the success of advertising in overseas media.

Filming of the largest international television series ever shot in South Africa, the Scandinavian series "The Fear Factor", has started in the city and will run for about five weeks. The feature film "The Piano Player", starring Christopher Lambert of "Highlander" fame and Dennis Hopper of "Easy Rider" was completed recently and is scheduled for international release later this year.

Another feature movie "Borderline" has commenced shooting.

Another feature film will be shot in May, and five others for German television are scheduled for this year.

As part of its campaign to boost the film industry, the City of Cape Town recently supported a series of workshops for potential producers and directors.

"The annual hosting of the Southern African International Film and Television Market, called Sithengi, has helped to place Cape Town as the top filming location in Africa and one of the top locations in the world," said Councillor Kent Morkel, Executive Councillor for Economic Development, Tourism and Property Management.

"The unmatched natural beauty of our landscape and ocean, coupled with our excellent infrastructure and user-friendly working environment, are now recognised around the world, not only as an attraction for filming but also for tourism," he said.

"All indications are that filming is well on the way to becoming one of the biggest industries in Cape Town with tremendous potential for job creation and entrepreneurial projects."