The B-Scheme subsidy and the 'black film industry' in apartheid South Africa, 1972-1990

The emergence of a 'black film industry' in apartheid South Africa is inextricably linked to the introduction of a differential state subsidy for film production. This subsidy, known as the B-Scheme in order to distinguish it from the general or A-Scheme subsidy, was introduced in 1972-1973. The B-Scheme was specifically for the production of films in an African language with a majority African cast and intended for a mass African audience. The 'black film industry' that was spawned by this subsidy was run by white South Africans with Africans playing minor roles as actors and in some instances as crew, with only a couple of individuals directing these films as employees of white-owned production companies. On one level this industry was a type of collaboration between some white citizens of South Africa and the apartheid government. The films that were produced as part of this subsidy can be viewed as the collaborative output of these two role players. But given the fact that the apartheid government was not directly involved in the scripting, producing or directing of these films, this paper argues that the white individuals assumed surrogate roles in the articulation and perpetuation of apartheid ideology. The first part of this paper traces the historical construction and establishment of this 'black film industry' and the second part engages in analysis of the narratives of selected B-Scheme films in order to show how closely these narratives adhere to official apartheid policy, even though such adherence was not stipulated by the government.