South African filmmakers’ identities and social change

Abstract: Social change is the predominant trope in South African films, ranging from documentary to fiction films. This study contributes to literature from sociology and film studies, by focusing on filmmakers in post-apartheid South Africa and why so many of them have chosen to reflect on social and political issues in their films. I adopted an identity approach, drawing primarily from the theories of Stuart Hall, Manuel Castells and Neville Alexander, as a means to understand the motivations and desires of South African filmmakers. My research question was as follows: ‘How do the identities of South African filmmakers impact on possibilities for social change?’ The research methods included interviews with key informants, the compilation of a filmmaker database, a survey, the collection of curricula vitae, semi-structured interviews with filmmakers and the analysis of South African films and policy documents. The data collected, between 2010 and 2013, revealed that while there are differences and exclusions based on race, class, gender and age identities in post-apartheid society, and they are reflected in film, the practice of South African filmmakers is one that emphasises commonalities, rather than divergences. This ‘shared experience’ of filmmaking in South Africa has contributed to a common concern about social change. This interest in social change has been shaped by a violent past, the subversive tradition of anti-apartheid filmmakers, and continuing social and political problems in contemporary South Africa, such as racism and poverty (which are experienced directly by many filmmakers). The policies and funding initiatives of post-apartheid national film institutions have also encouraged filmmakers to explore South Africa’s history and national identity through their films. The introduction of digital film technology and the internet has made it cheaper and easier to distribute films for social change across the geographical and class divides still entrenched in South Africa, which has tended to re-inforce the affinity between local filmmakers and social change. In this thesis I argue that, the identities of South African filmmakers do impact on possibilities for social change, because their agency and desires have contributed to a collection of movies that challenge us to question the society we live in and to keep trying for a better world.D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology