by Thinus Ferreira
In a growing scandal the existence of the most expensive TV show ever produced in Africa is under threat with the producers of Blood Psalms that MultiChoice commissioned as a Showmax Original who have now gone to court after millions of rands they have been promised in South Africa's film rebate scheme has inexplicably been pulled and that they urgently need to complete their series.
MultiChoice held a big presentation for Blood Psalms in Dubai last month as part of the African pay-TV operator's Expo 2020 Dubai media junket to showcase South African productions and to lure investors and producers to the country.
Billed as An "African Game of Thrones" - written, produced and directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka and Layla Swart Najaar from Yellowbone Entertainment - almost half of the R85 million production cost of Blood Psalms as a MultiChoice and Canal+ co-production is funded through the film rebate scheme of South Africa's department of trade, industry and competition (DTIC).
But Jahmil X.T. Qubeka says it was "an embarrassment" to be in Dubai, inviting the world to do business in South Africa "when we have not put the mechanisms in place for that to happen".
"The purpose of the Expo Dubai 2020 is to say to the world 'Hey, come to South Africa, work with its creatives, work with its infrastrastructure. Come and build partnerships, make films in this country."
While the DTIC and South Africa's department of sports, arts and culture also attended the Expo 202 Dubai and Blood Psalms presentation, The Devi Show on e.tv on Thursday night revealed that Yellowbone Entertainment has been forced take the department of trade, industry and competition to court to get its promised - then cancelled - rebates for Blood Psalms paid.
The multi-million rand series that has been in production for almost 2 years as the largest and most expensive series ever filmed in Africa and produced on South African soil, has already been delayed.
Candice Fangueiro, Showmax head of content, said the Showmax Original would start in October 2021, although the date came and went.
MultiChoice then announced to the media flown to Dubai for the media junket that Blood Psalms has now been pushed to February 2022 although it's unclear if this target date for release on Showmax will be met with the future of the R85 million production that now hangs in the balance.
R8 million earmarked to pay for Blood Psalms' post-production, with over 300 visual effects artists working on the show, was for instance abruptly cancelled in September. Besides this there is still another R16 million payment to be made in a rebate payment by the DTIC once Blood Psalms is fully completed.
Jahmil X.T. Qubeka said that "there are so many people's lives that are being wrecked by this one person's decision". He said that "we are in a situation - not just myself but the entire industry - where we are being held at gunpoint by administrators who refuse to be accountable for their decisions".
Layla Swart Najaar who said that "I am in over R14 million worth of debt. The rest is still piling up", revealed that to produce Blood Psalms, Yellowbone Entertainment had to apply three times for the film rebate before it was approved by the DTIC.
"I applied for it the first time, then it was declined. Then I applied again and then I applied again, and the third time we got approval."
The government's film rebates are paid out at specific production milestones with producers getting financial support while they're completing their content: At the start of principal photography, when filming wraps, the start of post-production, and then delivery of the completed video production.
"Every single [rebate] milestone has been a fight for me. Since March we have been fighting for this third milestone rebate payment," Layla Swart Najaar said.
Yellowbone Entertainment lodged an urgent application at the High Court in Pretoria before Judge Norman Davis to set aside the department of trade, industry and competition's repudiation of Blood Psalms' R8 million film rebate.
As an order of the court in October, the DTIC committed to make requisition for payment in the period of three days. According to the court order, the DTIC had to inform Yellowbone Entertainment by 19 October if it's going to pay the R8 million rebate for the third production milestone.
The DTIC failed to respond to the deadline of the court order. According to The Devi Show, the DTIC instead asked Yellowbone Entertainment for more documentation - documentation that the production company had already provided previously on multiple occasions.
Minister Ebrahim Patel of the department of trade, industry and competition declined to be interviewed.
In a written statement the DTIC said "in response to concerns expressed by the film sector, largely related to new rules governing the disbursement of funds, the minister and officials met with te industry on two occasions recently".
"This has resulted in an ongoing attempt to iron out specific matters related to reporting and disbursement. In would be inappropriate to continue these discussions in the media as the discussions have not yet been concluded and both parties have undertaken to work diligently to conclude outstanding matters".
"The Yellowbone matter is sub-judice and it would be unlawful to comment."
