Cape Town confirmed as top filming destination

More filming permits for Cape Town

Between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, the City of Cape Town’s Film Permit Office issued 4 757 film permits, a massive 22% increase from the 3 910 permits issued the previous year.

This is per the City of Cape Town, who revealed that the permits were lodged for feature films, commercials, TV series, stills photography, documentary films, short films, student projects and music videos.

The permit office also received bookings for more than 9 317 film locations in the same period.

Commercials make up the bulk of the film shoots over the last financial year, with 1 604 permits issued. This was followed by micro shoots, at 962 permits.

There were also 168 large feature films shot in Cape Town between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, almost double the amount from the previous year.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith said that filming in the city was increasingly becoming an all year business, which was good for both the industry and Cape Town.

“We are seeing more and more productions taking place in the winter months and this was the case for the concluding financial year. This is critical for an industry that contributes billions to the economy and employs over 30 000 people. Our Film Permit Office is geared to help the industry work effectively, by ensuring permits are processed timeously and providing efficient support where required,” Smith said.

Freeze on tariffs

The City also froze tariffs for filming for the fourth year in a rown, in a bid to boost the film industry. This effort includes zero-rated fees for the deployment of metro police and traffic services to assist where road closures are required.

This freeze has saved the local film industry nearly R700 000 in production costs.