Sure, we have hated on the film industry before with its “illegal” sign posts and all, but here’s the thing: The Cape Town film industry adds a whopping R5 billion to the local economy and, over the past three years, has created more than 35 000 jobs.

[But Black Sails will soon be coming to an end, so we’ll have quite a few lost actors and professional athletes stuntmen hanging around.]

Since the city has proven a popular destination for international film productions, A-list celebrities (no, not The Kiffness) have been showing face. We’ve had movies starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, and Sean Penn and Charlize’s ‘The Last Face’ was shot here and is currently screening at Cannes.

Currently Black Sails, Dominion, Wallander, Grand Theft Auto, Detour, Honey 3, and Odyssey are all being filmed.

The film industry plays a vital role in the economy of the Western Cape.

It stimulates growth, generates substantial employment and brings in valuable foreign exchange. It is also one of the best forms of promotion for our city.

Filming is a labour-intensive industry and, therefore, has a long value chain. The film-production sector also adds value to a wide range of other sectors in the local economy through the creation of demand for products and services. The industry showcases Cape Town, its diversity of locations, technical film capacity and talent, and also provides value-added marketing and investment collateral for the city.

The industry also allowed international film crews to impart valuable new skills to their local counterparts.

But apart from that, another contributor is high-profile sporting matches.

Last year just six events contributed a phenomenal amount of R2-billion. From January to March this year, 172 events were supported – up from 100 for the same period in 2015.

And people say we don’t have enough resources to become a Republic. Kidding.

[source: timeslive]