What is the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package (PESP) for?
A response to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic to the South African film industry proposed by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) administered by the NFVF and the NAC
When is the closing date for the call?
24 June – 29 July 2022
Organizations involved?
The Arts sector. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the National Arts Council (NAC) are the two entities of the Department of Sports Arts and Culture, through which the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package will be administered.
Which sector does the call address?
The audiovisual sector
Who is eligible to benefit?
Freelancers and practitioners and their projects as well as companies that incurred losses
The emphasis is on projects that can produce within a short-term period, and not those that still need to seek additional funding.
What are the funding caps?
There are no funding caps. The project is mainly dependant on jobs to create – however the panel will decide how to cap each project.
How much is being availed by National Treasury?
PESP3 Budget allocation: R152,3 million
What is Cost breakdown?
- A total of R152,3 million disbursed through the NFVF (in 2022/23 FY) and administered according to an DSAC approved criteria. A total of 4% of PESP will be used for administration expenses.
- Project allocation cost of R145 578 000.00, to be disbursed by 31 March 2023 will be contained as follows:
- Administration cost of 4% – R6 722 000.00 – will be used to ensure the efficient management of the project.
Who can benefit?
Projects that support innovation in digitisation efforts for content creation (development and production) and the dissemination and development of e-commerce systems.
Who is the call open to?
Industry players, encompassing fiction and non-fiction, animation, as well as television concepts; and any other audio-visual concepts with the potential to contribute to the objectives of this Fund.
How many employment opportunities will be created and retained?
| Stream | Projects | Budget | Jobs Targeted |
| Stream 1 | Production open call | R 113 087 333.00 | 7000 |
| Stream 2 | Skills Development open call | R 20 306 667.00 | 1300 |
| Stream 3 | Marketing & Distribution open call | R 12 184 000.00 | 700 |
What is the suggested length per project?
Projects that are realistically implementable, within one year for stream 1.
Projects that are realistically implementable within three (3) months for Stream 2 & 3.
Who is this opportunity accessible to?
The youth, women, previously disadvantaged groups to acquire development and training skills e.g. (but not limited to) on the job and experiential training
Who must the project reach?
Practitioners, audio-visual workers at ground level to support the various initiatives they can undertake as a form of generating income.
What are the 3 streams: Stream 1 is Production, Stream 2 is Skills Development, Stream 3 is Industry,
How to apply: Applicants need to register and complete the online application form using the following link: https://nfvf.praxisgms.co.za/
What is in the Production Open Call for? Stream 1
- Projects: Formats that will be considered will be Feature Films, TV Films, Feature Films (Fiction), TV Films (Fiction), Short Films (Fiction), Short Films (Documentary), TV Format (Pilot), TV Feature Series (Documentary), Feature Film (Animation), Series (Animation), Short Film (Animation) and Web-Series.
- The ideal projects would be those with the ability to employ at least ten (10) or more people at the above rate.
- Projects that are realistically implementable, within one year for stream 1 will be considered.
- This call will be open to all South African productions, inclusive of co-productions.
- This stream has been allocated a higher budget to reflect the demand and a target of the most jobs as this stream created the most jobs under PESP1
- PESP3 Budget allocation: R 113 087 333
- PESP3 Stream 1 targeted jobs: 7 000
What is in the Skills Development Call? Stream 2
- Projects: Skills Development initiatives and proposals (including graduate development programmes) with a demonstrated job creation ability for a three (3) month period.
- Proposals with the potential to address the scarce skills gap, while creating employment opportunities: Internships; Mentorships (on-the-job); Training programmes – Facilitation fees; Virtual classes – Facilitation fees; Training of safety officers on production sets
- Preference will be given to training targeting scarce skills in the industry, training programs aimed at the youth and female filmmakers and programmes in underserviced provinces
- This stream will give an opportunity to not just credited facilitators but also to established and skilled members of the Audio-Visual Industry.
- The open call will also target ongoing productions by enabling production companies to apply for additional resources through the PESP3 that are pre-determined (Junior to Mid level resources)
- Industry organisations with compelling and relevant programmes will also be invited to apply under this stream e.g., Swift with their GBVF focused training programs.
- Budget allocation: R 20 306 667
- Targeted Jobs: 1 300
What is in the Marketing and Distribution Call? Stream 3
- Projects: Distribution strategy proposals such as public screenings, film festivals/markets hosting targeting job creation.
- For the Film Festivals and Screenings, the aim is to enlarge the scope of job creation by ensuring that “Events” are created by the beneficiaries that will also create employment for Youth, Females and Disabled individuals.
- Film Festivals and Screenings will be encouraged to take place in Community Centers/Town Halls
- Screenings will allow for the township economy to thrive where vendors can also be invited to be a part of the screenings.
- PESP3 Budget allocation: R 12 184 000
- PESP3 Stream 1 Targeted jobs: 700
Factors considered for evaluation?
- Functionality – demonstrable project management capability and likelihood for high impact success i.e. project success, number of jobs created, and geographical reach;
- BBBEE (targeted group as per National Treasury Regulations) – deliberate focus on the demographics with the highest incidence of unemployment;
- Scarce Skills – training and development proposals with the potential to address the scarce skills gap, while creating employment opportunities;
- Geographical spread – deliberate focus on proposals that target underserviced areas as well as areas with high population density and therefore resultant high unemployment;
- Cost to service ratio – due attention to the proposals’ cost of employment ratios to ensure maximum costs of the stimulus are spent on recipients; and
- Ability to create ten (10) or more industry jobs within a twelve (12) month period.
What are the Compulsory documents for individual applicants?
- Certified copy of Identity Document;
- Individual Tax Certificate;
- Comprehensive CV;
- Budget and proposed project;
What are the Compulsory documents for Company applications?
- CVs of key personnel;
- Budget and proposed project;
- Valid BBBEE certificate;
- Original valid tax clearance certificate
- Company registration documents.
What are the compulsory application requirements for Production Call?
- Proposal synopsis (half-a-page);
- Brief project summary (maximum 5 pages);
- Treatment (maximum 20 pages);
- Fully developed script;
- CVs with career profiles of the key creative team: Producer, Director, Writer, DOP and Line Producer;
- Development and production schedule;
- Marketing and distribution strategy;
- Production Company’s (or Individual) experience and previous productions;
- Detailed Budget and recoupment plan;
- A full credit list/total number of jobs to be created.
What are the compulsory application requirements for Skills Development?
- Training programme outlines with objectives;
- Timelines;
- Selection criteria;
- CVs of the facilitators;
- Detailed Budget.
What are the compulsory application requirements for Industry Call?
- CVs of key management
- Project Plan
- Activation area(s)
- Audience Development Strategy
- A unique selling point demonstrating sustainability and contribution to industry recovery and growth;
- Proposed screening schedule and structure.
Who is evaluating the applications?
An independent panel will evaluate all applications in three stages.
What are the 3 evaluation stages?
Stage 1 – Administrative Compliance
During this stage, bidders will be assessed on their submission of mandatory documents as stipulated in paragraph 6. The Evaluation Committee has the discretion to disqualify applicants who have not submitted all mandatory documents.
Stage 2 – Functionality Evaluation
Applicants who provided all required administration documents will be evaluated on functionality as per the below evaluation criteria, where a minimum threshold is 60 points. Applicants who scored an overall score of 60 points and above will be evaluated in the following stage of evaluation whilst bidders who score below 60 points will be disqualified from the evaluation process.
Stage 3 – Price and B-BBEE
Applicants who obtain an overall score of 60 points and above, will be evaluated on 80/20 preference points basis system, where 80 points are for the price and 20 points for B-BBEE.
Applicants need to register and complete the online application form using the following link: https://nfvf.praxisgms.co.za/
For any PESP queries, send an email to PESP@NFVF.CO.ZA,
Submission Dates: 24 June – 29 July 2022