Trump's film tantrum: Brandon Auret calls on Gayton McKenzie to invest in local films

The Citizen

06-05-2025

'I'm a firm believer in that when the door is closed, jump through the window,' actor Brandon Auret told The Citizen.
Auret has called on Minister Gayton McKenzie to use Donald Trump's 100% tariffs on films made outside of the US, as an opportunity to invest in local film industry. Picture: brandon_auret/ Instagram
South African actor and filmmaker Brandon Auret has called on Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie to use Donald Trump's 100% tariffs on films made outside of the US as an opportunity to invest in the local film industry.
The US president recently proposed a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced content. If implemented, it would apply to locally made films, potentially even productions filmed here and series sold into the US.
'I'm a firm believer in that when the door is closed, jump through the window,' Auret told The Citizen.
Opportunity
Auret, who most South Africans were introduced to when he appeared on the SABC 3 soapie Isidingo as Leon du Plessis, said he doesn't blame Trump for his decision because it's always been much cheaper for foreign films to be made outside of the US.
Auret said the decision was however sad for the South African industry because not enough films are being made by locals.
'Hollywood screwed itself, especially with Los Angeles. The prices that they were paying to get location licenses, to get permits to be able to film in a studio- the executives screwed you over, it's not other countries, mister Donald Trump,' said Auret.
'The big money guys, they chased the films away. It became too expensive to shoot in Los Angeles.'
The South African actor said that if one takes a movie with a $10 million budget in the US and shoots it in South Africa, the conversion rate means the budget swells to at least R180 million.
'You could shoot the exact same quality film in South Africa, with our crew, our cast. It makes sense not to shoot in a country that's not overcharging you for everything.'
He said this was an opportunity for McKenzie to step up for the local film industry.
'Not just the sport side of it, but the arts and culture side of it. Get your mayors, councillors from different areas to put money into a film and let every place in South Africa become a film location,' expressed Auret.
'There's no backing. Nobody is doing a thing about the film industry, the DTIC and the NFVF has screwed over people,' Auret claimed.
The Citizen contacted McKenzie's office for comment, but was unsuccessful at the time of publishing. Any response will be included once received.
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'No backing'
In March, members of the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective, Independent Producers Organisation and other industry players protested outside the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) offices in Tshwane, voicing growing concerns over the DTIC's failure to address critical issues impacting the industry.
In April, the South African Screen Federation (SASFED) criticised McKenzie for appointing National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) CEO Vincent Blennies.
'The minister's disregard for established rules and guidelines can harm the regulatory frameworks that have been put in place to ensure fair distribution of resources, transparency and effective governance in the sector,' read a statement from SASFED.
While addressing McKenzie as the minister, Auret called on mayors and politicians to invest in domestically-made films.
'Invest some of that money into filmmaking. Get those films to come over to your little town, little cities [and] shoot there, employ the locals,' said Auret.
He said the benefit is that it creates a whole ecosystem, including accommodation, food, and transport services.
The shooting of a film could involve as many as 180 people.
'The money spent on a film doesn't just go into the film; it's not like everything ends up on the screen. There's a lot of money spent outside of the film'
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Tourism
Auret says there's a lucrative tourism factor when people shoot films across South Africa. The impact of cinema on tourism is enormous.
The fantasy film series The Lord of the Rings significantly contributed to New Zealand's GDP through tourism.
The series, which was filmed entirely down under, boosted tourism by about 50%, bringing in an estimated NZ$33 million (R600 M+) annually.
By 2018, New Zealand welcomed 3.6 million visitors annually, and tourism became the nation's largest export industry.
Auret said South Africa has more to offer tourists than the country's three biggest metros, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.
'My whole big thing is not just about making films, not just about investing in the communities that are in those cities, but opening up the tourism. Getting people to go 'wow, that movie was shot where?''
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