Cape Town Film Studios

CORPORATE PROFILE
Black Economic Empowerment is designed to bring historically disadvantaged people into the mainstream of the economy and this is one of Videovision Entertainment's core goals. Our vision of being a significant, commercially-driven, 100% black owned and controlled company, lends itself to the development of an economic and social order reflective of the country's demography. Certainly the fortunes of South Africa, and our company, depend greatly on the implementation of this vision into a sustainable reality within the activities of the company.

Videovision Entertainment is a diversified company with operations that range from its core business of film and television production and distribution to media, live entertainment and film studio and real estate development.  Through its diversification programme, the company has achieved phenomenal growth over the years, resulting in it becoming one of the leading media and entertainment entities in South Africa and the African continent.

Whilst the company activities are focussed on filmed entertainment, media and real estate, the long term vision is to create value through a range of diverse investments, and in achieving this, we have adopted a strategy where we will consider investments in companies that have the following:

  *   High growth potential in sustainable industries
  *   Strong cash flow and turnover
  *   Strong, professional and expert management
  *   Where we can add real value, or where we can create strategic alliances with a successful industry player

Videovision Entertainment has achieved significant success and has a proven track record in the various facets of its business.

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT
Videovision Entertainment has produced more than 75 feature films over the past 25 years in South Africa, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Hong Kong, with an aggregate value of production costs in excess of R1 billion.

Among the company's productions are some of the most profound films to have been produced in South Africa, including A Place Of Weeping, Cry, The Beloved Country and Sarafina!  The company also produced Yesterday, the first South African film to receive an Academy Award Nomination.

The company holds the coveted film rights to Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom.  The film is currently in pre-production and is budgeted at R270 million.

Videovision Entertainment's association with South Africa's Number One Box Office star, Leon Schuster, has seen the production of three of the Top Four All Time South African box office successes -  the hit comedies Mr Bones 2 which has earned R35 million, Mr Bones which grossed R33 million at the box office and Mama Jack which grossed  R28 million.

Released in 2008 in South Africa was More Than Just A Game, the moving docu-drama feature which tells the inspiring story of organised soccer among prisoners on Robben Island (the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated by the apartheid regime in South Africa). Recent releases include the comedy Jozi, which is directed by Craig Freimond and features some of South Africa's leading young talents and the stand up movie, Outrageous! which sees South Africa's top stand up comics come together in a no-holds barred, adults only stand up comedy experience.

Shot in the United States are American East with Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and the re-make of Japanese horror maestro Hideo Nakata's Don't Look Up, directed by award winning Hong Kong filmmaker, Fruit Chan (Dumplings, Three Extremes).

The First Grader which is set in a remote Kenyan and tells the remarkable and uplifting story of a proud old Mau Mau veteran who is determined to seize his last opportunity to learn to read and joins a class of six year olds.  The First Grader was a hit at both the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals and was the Audience Prize runner-up in Toronto.

Recently completed is  the documentary feature My Hunter's Heart which explores the world's oldest world's most ancient shamanic culture which is severely threatened as their traditional way of life and skills have been taken away from them.  It tracks the Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari, the oldest living indigenous tribe in the world, who are genetically linked to every human being on Planet Earth.

Videovision Entertainment acquired the South African rights to and also successfully produced the international hit gameshow, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? for three seasons. It also produced a weekly drama series, The Res for the SABC and has produced numerous documentaries, among which are:  Nkosi - The Voice Of Africa's AIDS Orphans, A Hero For All (a tribute to Nelson Mandela as he stepped down as President), Countdown to Freedom (documenting the 10 days preceding the first democratic elections in South Africa 1994) and Prisoners of Hope (documents the reunion of 1250 former political prisoners, led by President Mandela, on Robben Island). Produced as a 90th Birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela, was Viva Madiba: A Hero For All Seasons.  The company scored a major coup with the timely production of Obama: People's President, a documentary feature that explores the unique and innovative US presidential campaign mounted by Barack Obama.

Videovision Entertainment is among the leading independent film distributors, acquiring more than two thousand international films for distribution in South Africa over the last 25 years, ranging from independent films and documentaries, Foreign Language and Arthouse films to multi million dollar blockbuster films.  Among the recent films distributed are The Concert, Transporter 3, An Education, Of Gods and Men and Made in Dagenham.  Upcoming releases include Elite Squad 2, Dredd 3D, The Cup and Midnight in Paris.

The company also holds a 50% stake in the specialist video/DVD distribution company, Next Entertainment, which holds the South African rights to numerous libraries, including National Geographic and popular children's programming from HIT Entertainment.  Next Entertainment also holds the South African distribution rights to home entertainment product from the 20th Century Fox and MGM stables.

MEDIA
The company is a pioneer in commercial radio in South Africa and is a former shareholder in East Coast Radio, OFM and Jacaranda FM.  It was also a founding shareholder, with Kagiso Trust Investments in the establishment of the JSE-listed Kagiso Media Ltd, with CEO, Anant Singh and Business Affairs Director, Sudhir Pragjee playing critical roles.  Videovision Entertainment held 15% of Kagiso Media, the market cap of which was R2 billion until it exited from this investment 2005.

The company submitted applications, in November 2009, to ICASA for two Greenfield FM radio licences, in Durban and Cape Town, responding to the Invitation to Apply for Free To Air Sound Broadcasting Licences.

Anant Singh's expertise in media and entertainment saw him being appointed to the Board of Governors for Media and Entertainment of the World Economic Forum.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
The company has promoted some of the most successful stadium extravaganzas ever staged in South Africa.  Among these are the South African legs of Michael Jackson's History World Tour and Gloria Estefan's Evolution World Tour.  It also promoted Bollywood megastar, Amitabh Bachchan's Jumma Chooma Concert and also the Now Or Never Live! which saw ten of Bollywood's brightest stars perform to an audience of  60 000  in a capacity sold-out show at the ABSA Stadium in Durban.

FILM STUDIO AND REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Videovision Entertainment has developed Cape Town Film Studios, a state-of-the-art film studio facility in the Faure area outside Cape Town. The studios are equipped with the latest technology and covers an area of 200 hectares with 60 hectares for film studios and associated facilities and the balance for commercial, industrial and residential development.

The company has developed the prestigious, seven-star high-rise residential complex, The Pearls of Umhlanga, situated in the tourism belt of Umhlanga, north of Durban which comprises of 250 apartments build at a cost of R800 million.

VENTURE CAPITAL
The company is a participant in Tsiya  Group (Pty) Ltd, an Investment and Venture Capital company in partnership with Investec Bank Limited.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Videovision Entertainment is a partner in American Tower Company South Africa, the leading independent wireless, shared infrastructure provider in South Africa.  American Tower owns 1 400 cellular transmission towers in South Africa and it is planned to add an additional 1 800+ new sites by 2014.

RETAIL
The company has a significant shareholding in Signature Cosmetics, a niche retailer of cosmetics and toiletry products, with a chain of 85 stores throughout Southern Africa.  The stores offer a range of house-branded Signature products as well as international brands and the primary products include colour cosmetics, fragrances, body sprays, and skin treatments.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
Distant Horizon, wholly owned by Videovision Entertainment, is the company's international arm with offices in London and Los Angeles which controls the group's international film production and distribution activities.  The company is also a significant shareholder in Origin Pictures Limited, the London based independent film and television production company.

BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT RATING
Videovision Entertainment strictly adheres to the principles of Black Economic Empowerment and has obtained the highest possible AAA+, Level 1 Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating from Empowerdex Economic Empowerment Rating Agency.

Videovision Entertainment is also deemed a value adding supplier, allowing clients to recognise a further 125% of all purchases over and above the normal 135% by virtue of the company's Level 1 status, allowing clients to recognise 168.75% of all purchases from the company towards their BEE procurement scorecard.

Sabido Investments (Proprietary) Limited (Sabido) is a media group owned by JSE-listed Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI)  and Remgro Limited. The group grew out of the success of e.tv, South Africa’s first and only private commercial free-to-air television channel, which launched in 1998 and which is wholly owned by Sabido. In 2008, Sabido launched South Africa’s first 24-hour television news channel, the eNews Channel. It also operates a pan-African entertainment channel, e.tv Africa, which broadcasts in 49 countries across the continent and has direct investments in broadcasting businesses in Botswana and Ghana.  The group continues to expand its media business with investments in content production and distribution as well as the launch of services across multiple platforms and territories. Sabido has key investments in The Africa Channel on Sky’s platform in the United Kingdom and in Setanta Sports Asia. It owns Power distribution in the UK and has an investment office in Beijing, China.

Wesgro is the official Investment and Trade Promotion Agency for the Western Cape, located in Cape Town, South Africa. We are the first point of contact for foreign importers, local exporters and investors wishing to take advantage of the unlimited business potential in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Wesgro works closely with key players including the South African Government, Business, Labour, the City of Cape Town, District Municipalities and rural local authorities.

Wesgro provides cutting edge intelligence to exporters and investors which includes information on foreign markets, export opportunities, international regulation of trade and export statistics. We also offer intelligence on the Western Cape's economy, sectors and related investment opportunities, local business conditions and government regulations.

Wesgro facilitates trade and investment processes using our insight and experience in international commerce. Our range of services allows for seamless support for business people wanting to invest in the Western Cape as well as for exporters wanting to penetrate international markets.

Wesgro has established strategic relations with selected local, national and international partners. These include industry and business associations, government and other private sector stakeholders. Using our networks, we provide strategic marketing support to publicly launch your investment in the Western Cape and promote your product in the international market.

Our vision is to grow the economy through Trade and Investment opportunities to benefit the people of the Western Cape.  

A part of our mandate is to attract and facilitate foreign and domestic direct investment into the Western Cape. We aim to grow exports of products and services of the Western Cape through development of export capability, demand and market access. We also aim to grow exports of products and services of the Western Cape through development of export capability, demand and market access.

Wesgro provides access to the Western Cape community, which includes foreign business networks, political decision makers, government institutions, business and labour organisations.

TSUKUDU ASSOCIATES is a Cape Town based management consulting company with clientele in and outside of South Africa.  It is a black owned and managed company and our associates reflect South Africa’s diversity. TSUKUDU ASSOCIATES has its roots in Africa but is international and global in outlook.  It is a vehicle for public and private sector organisations to have their human resource management and organisational development needs met.

Our consultants and associates support team have a wide range of practical experience gained over many years of work experience in private, public and NGO sectors. Their relevant training and academic qualifications back this experience.  They are thus able to combine theory with practice.  Our associates too are experts in the areas we service.

TSUKUDU ASSOCIATES holds firmly that its support should enhance the effective functioning, service delivery and or profitability of organisations.  We aim to achieve this by working collaboratively with clients in a professional and ethical manner to find workable solutions that cater for each client’s uniqueness. TSUKUDU ASSOCIATES therefore, does not work with “off-the-shelf” packages.