With South Africa’s film industry worth over R12.2 billion and an increasing number of local productions becoming streaming hits, the room for innovation has never been bigger.
Founded in the heart of South Africa’s film industry, Cape Town-based Filmspace plans to capitalise on this by streamlining the often resource-heavy location scouting process while giving property owners a chance to make extra cash renting out their homes.
Property owners, called hosts, are able to list residential, commercial, studio and mobile property, all of which has dramatically expanded the industry offering.
Unique cars, wine farms, homes, mansions, hotels and more are now on the market at substantially lower costs and without the traditional labor-intensive scouting process. Like many leading marketplace platforms like Airbnb, Filmspace allows hosts to complete listings in minutes while still controlling flexible booking rules. Hosts set their own custom rate, and earn money based on individual bookings with factors including production hours, crew sizes, and more playing a role.
Better yet, Filmspace does not contain any exclusivity clauses, meaning Airbnb owners are able to supplement their income by further renting out property during off-season or free booking days, all to professional filmmakers. Property owners are also able to charge up to three times what they would normally charge to rent their homes via Airbnb.
All payments, automated locations agreements and communication between property owners and filmmakers takes place on the bespoke platform, with Filmspace covering the administrative process and providing R1 million host liability, underwritten by Santam.
Much like other successful marketplace platforms, Filmspace charges a commission per completed booking. Filmspace has created a pool of diverse and unusual film locations previously unavailable to filmmakers. The platform boasts over 400 property listings in just a handful of months, including spaces such as the Cederberg’s Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve and the iconic Radisson RED Hotel.
Filmspace founder Blanche Franken says, “While studying film, I saw so many projects just never leave the ground. Production is expensive. I wanted to create a platform that would not only allow property owners to make extra money, but to also make the industry more accessible.” By making the industry increasingly accessible for filmmakers and property owners, Filmspace provides much-needed creative and financial growth during this challenging time; our GDP gets a vital boost and cash-strapped South Africans gain a secondary income when they need it most. It’s a win/win for filmmakers and property owners.”
