South Africa, Feb. 4 -- Previous success

Local work also thrived: Inxeba made the Oscar long list, and Thuso Mbedu won best actress at the International Emmys.

But that era has vanished. Now jobs are evaporating, talent is emigrating, suppliers are struggling to keep afloat, and our sound stages stand empty as productions choose other countries or just never get out of the starting blocks.

In desperation, hundreds of film industry people protested last week outside Parliament in Cape Town and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) in Pretoria.

What changed? To answer that question, we need to rewind to February 2024 at the DTIC's ochre brick offices where a tense meeting took place between representatives of the film...