The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce the opening of the call for the Sixth Presidential Employment Stimulus Program, also referred to as PESP 6, issued by The Presidency through the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC).
The NFVF has been tasked by the DSAC to administer PESP 6, a government initiative designed to continue the reactivation of the sector on the right path as outlined in the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (ERRP) after the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package aims to assist practitioners and companies with projects in their implementation stages to reach completion through financial support. The call also aims to support the sector through continuous skills development, focusing on the skills that the sector deems scarce.
The NFVF implements the PESP across two programmes, Project 1 and Project 2. Project 1 refers to job creation through grant administration. Project 2 refers to job creation through an internship programme for the digitisation of archive materials. This open call refers to Project 1.
Project 1 is comprised of:
| Stream | Group | Format | Cap/s | Open Call |
| 1 | 1 | Production (Incl Development & Post-Production) | R10 million | 06 Oct – 21 Nov 2025 |
| 1 | 2 | Production (Incl. Post-Production) | R400K – R2 million | 01 Oct – 31 Oct 2025 |
| 2 | N/A | Skills Development | R700K – R1 million | 01 Oct – 31 Oct 2025 |
| 3 | N/A | Marketing and Distribution | R500K – R1.5 million | 01 Oct – 31 Oct 2025 |
The closing date for submissions is Friday, 31 October 2025 for Stream 1: Group 2, Stream 2 and Stream 3.
For the 2025/26 financial year, the DSAC has allocated R230 000 000 to ensure that the job creation target of 15 360 for the financial year is met. The breakdown of jobs is as follows:
Project 1, Stream1:Group 2, Stream 2 and Stream 3 have a target of 11 360 jobs,
Project 1, Stream 1 Group 1 has a target of 4000 jobs.
The project allocation cost of R230 000 000.00 will be distributed as follows:
| Description | Budget Amount |
| A) Budget Breakdown: Project 1 | |
| Stream 1: Production (Incl. Development & Post-Production) (Group 1 – Blockbusters) | R 50 000 000.00 |
| Stream 1: Production (Incl. Post-Production) (Group 2 – Production-ready) | R 70 926 730.00 |
| Stream 1: Production – Group 1 and Group 2 | R 120 926 730.00 |
| Stream 2: Skills Development and Training | R 60 963 365.00 |
| Stream 3: Market and Film festivals | R 19 998 905.00 |
| PESP6 Project Appeals | R 5 000 000.00 |
| Administration fee | R 9 611 000.00 |
| SUB – TOTAL | R 216 500 000.00 |
| B) Digitisation: Project 2 | R 13 500 000.00 |
| TOTAL: | R 230 000 000.00 |
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
- Since PESP is a special project, not all provisions of the NFVF funding policy will be applicable.
- Projects that can realistically be implemented between 01 August 2026 – 30 November 2026 for Stream 2 and 3, and 01 August 2026 – 31 July 2027, within the specified budget will be considered.
- PESP-specific funding caps will be implemented in order to provide funding to as many practitioners as possible, without compromising the number of jobs that can be created within the set timeframes per stream. These caps should NOT be confused with the funding caps of the NFVF funding policy as PESP is a special project.
- The ideal projects would be those capable of employing at least ten (10) or more people at the rates specified within the funding caps per stream. This will be the minimum job target for Stream 1 Short-format, Stream 2 and Stream 3. The minimum job target for long-format in Stream 1 will be twenty (20) jobs.
- It is crucial for applicants to secure supplementary funding, if their project requires it, BEFORE submitting their application for the PESP 6 program, as no additional time will be allocated for this process.
- Projects still in need of funding from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and its related incentive programme will not be considered.
- Applicants will be required to open a separate designated bank account for PESP6.
- Applicants are discouraged from submitting the same project for consideration in both PESP6 and normal NFVF funding applications to avoid double dipping.
- Projects submitted for the various streams should prioritise employment opportunities for youth, women, people with disabilities and previously disadvantaged groups. Preference will be given to applicants who have not received funding for PESP 1, PESP 3, PESP 4 and PESP 5.
- Each applicant is allowed to submit applications for only one stream, limited to two applications per applicant.
- PESP6 will accommodate appeals.
- AUDIO-VISUAL OPEN CALL STREAMS
STREAM 1: PRODUCTION OPEN CALL (GROUP 2)
- Theme: Not applicable
- Projects Considered: Production-ready formats for 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), web-series and co-productions (co-productions that have secured a co-production partner and related funds will be considered due to the limited implementation provided that the PESP portion funds the South African related component).
- Projects Not Considered: Development projects due to the relatively low number of jobs they can yield compared to production-ready projects.
- Number of Jobs Considered and Time-Frame: Long-format: Minimum of 20 jobs within a 12 month period; Short-format: Minimum of 10 jobs within a 12 month period.
- Implementation period 01 August 2026 – 31 July 2027.
- Application Process
- Phase one: Online Application – Apply through the open call via Praxis, after which
- each project will be evaluated by the PESP6 appointed advisory panel members
- Phase two: Pitch Process – Not Applicable
- Cap per project: R400 000 (shorts) / R600 000 (animation shorts) / R2 million (feature-length)
- Maximum Number of Projects Funded: Based on capability within the budget
- Budget allocation: R70 926 730 (of the Total Stream 1 budget of R120 926 730)
- Targeted jobs: 5 160 jobs (of the total target of 9 160 jobs for Stream 1 Group 1 & Group 2)
| GROUP | FORMAT (FICTION, NON-FICTION, ANIMATION) | GENRES | TIER | FUNDING CAP | MIN JOBS PER PROJECT |
| GROUP 2 | Feature Films | All | 1 – 2 | R 2 million | 20 |
| Feature films (animation) | All | 1 – 2 | R 2 million | 20 | |
| Documentary (2 – 3 part) | All | 1 – 2 | R 2 million | 20 | |
| Co-Productions | All | 1 – 2 | R 2 million | 20 | |
| Production Animation (Short Film) | All | 1 – 3 | R600 000.00 | 10 | |
| Production Short Films | All | 1 – 3 | R400 000.00 | 10 | |
| Production Short Films (Documentary) | All | 1 – 3 | R400 000.00 | 10 | |
| Production Web Series | All | 1 – 3 | R400 000.00 | 10 | |
| Production Web Series (Documentary) | All | 1 – 3 | R400 000.00 | 10 | |
| TV format (pilot) | All | 1 – 3 | R350 000.00 | 10 |
STREAM 2: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OPEN CALL
- Projects Considered: Training programmes offered by the following will be considered:
- Provisionally and fully accredited organisations/individuals by one or more of the Sector Education and Training Authority’s (SETA’s) (E.g. Cathsseta or MICTSETA etc.),
- Experts in the field with at least 10 years’ experience in the field in which they want to train.
- Preference will be given to training programmes focusing on scarce skills in the industry as well as those aimed at the youth, people living with disabilities and female filmmakers.
- Projects Not Considered: Training programmes that are contingent upon production implementation for cost-saving purposes will not be considered.
- Number of Jobs Considered and Time-Frame: A minimum of 10 jobs must be created within a 4 month period.
- Projects that can realistically be implemented in 4 months between 01 August 2026 – 30 November 2026 will be considered.
- Budget allocation: R60 963 365
- Targeted jobs: 4 200 jobs
| Training Programmes | CAP |
| Training without production equipment for hire | R 700 000.00 |
| Training with production equipment for hire | R1 000 000.00 |
| Stipend | MINIMUM STIPEND |
| Each learner per day OR | R 350.00 |
| Each learner per month | R 5 000.00 |
STREAM 3: MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION OPEN CALL
- Projects Considered: Film Festivals, Markets and Public Screenings
- Projects Not Considered: Normal Marketing & Distribution; Festival and Markets Attendance
- Number of. Jobs Considered and Time-Frame: Minimum of 10 jobs within a period of 6 months.
The terms of reference and objective criteria have a deliberate focus on the following success factors 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 provinces such as Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Northwest, Free State, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and underserviced areas in serviced provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape, especially due to the high population density areas which have resulted in high unemployment;
- Cost to job and service ratio – due attention to the proposals’ cost of employment ratios to ensure maximum costs of the stimulus are spent on recipients; and
- Minimum number of Jobs– ability to create ten (10) or more industry jobs.
- Films to be screened from the province that the applicant is approved for.
- Details of the applicant/company’s website/social media handles to be included to ensure that screened films are accessible.
- Films that are screened need to be Film and Publication Board (FPB) classified, where an FPB certificate will be required prior to the screening of the films.
- Projects must be realistically implementable in 4 months between 01 August 2026 – 30 November 2026.
- Budget allocation: R60 963 365
- Targeted jobs: 4 200 jobs
| FORMAT | CAP | TIER |
| Film Festival and Market Hosting | R 1 500 000.00 | 1, 2 and 3 |
| Public Screening | R 500 000.00 | 2 and 3 |
- COMPULSORY APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Stream 1: Production Open Call
- Proposal synopsis (1 page);
- Brief project summary (maximum 5 pages);
- Treatment (maximum 20 pages);
- Fully developed script for fiction and fully developed outline for documentary;
- CVs with career profiles of the key creative team: Producer, Director, Writer, DOP and Line Producer; Each individual CV should be presented, and a CV/team member can only be presented for a maximum of 2 roles;
- Production schedule;
- Marketing and distribution strategy;
- Production Company’s (or Individual) experience and previous productions;
- Detailed Budget and recoupment plan;
- Detailed finance plan;
- A full credit list/total number of jobs to be created;
- Letters of commitment/intent or agreements where applicable. This may include letters of agreement from key characters in non-fiction work as applicable;
- Non-fiction work reliant on archive should provide an archive plan.
Stream 2: Training Open Call
- Training programme outlines with objectives;
- Timelines;
- Selection criteria for the participants;
- CVs of the facilitators;
- Detailed Budget.
Stream 3: Marketing & Distribution Open 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;
- For public screenings – Proposed screening schedule and structure.
- For film festivals and markets – Proposed screening schedule and structure and along with proposed panel sessions and/or workshops
Furthermore, applicants submitting as companies must provide the following compulsory documentation:
- CVs of key personnel;
- Certified ID Documents of all Directors within six months from the date of certification
- Budget and proposed project;
- Valid BBBEE certificate issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) or Sworn Affidavit
- Valid Tax Compliance Status Pin: Good Standing
- The Company registration document preferably COR14.3 should be dated within six months of the date of application
- Letter of Authorization from the applicant to apply on behalf of the institution
Applicants submitting as individuals must provide the following compulsory documentation:
- Individual Tax Certificate;
- Comprehensive CV;
- Budget and proposed project;
- Certified ID Document-within six months from the date of certification
- EVALUATION CRITERIA
Stream 1: Production Open Call
- Experience of the Project Leader and CVs of the Key Management and Creative – 30%
- Coherence of the budget with the scope of the project and viability of the financial plan (15%)
- Realism of the agenda/timeline of the project – Concept (5%)
- Story Feasibility (15%)
- Number of Jobs (5%)
- Transformation (20%): Race (4%), Gender (4%), Disability (4%), Underserviced Province (5%), Transformation in Key Black Management Positions (3%)
ELIGIBILITY
Tier 1 – Experienced filmmakers who have a proven track record for developing and / or producing at least three successful and commercially viable feature films, series, TV films or documentaries.
Tier 2 – Filmmakers with limited experience. They must have developed and produced one or two feature films, TV films, TV series, documentaries, or two or three short films and/or commercials.
Tier 3 – New entrants into the industry, particularly recent film school graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds. They must have produced or directed at least one short film.
Stream 2: Training Open Call
- Experience (CVs and facilitators) (30%)
- The coherence of the budget with the scope of the project and viability of the financial plan (15%)
- The realism of the agenda/timeline of the project (15%)
- Sustainability for future employment spinoffs (20%)
- Transformation (20%): Race (4%), Gender (4%), Disability (4%), Underserviced Province (5%), Transformation in Key Black Management Positions (3%)
Stream 3: Marketing & Distribution Open Call
- Experience (CVs and facilitators) (30%)
- The coherence of the budget with the scope of the project and the viability of the financial plan (15%)
- Audience development strategy (15%)
- Project plan (15%)
- Number of jobs (5%)
- Transformation (20%): Race (4%), Gender (4%), Disability (4%), Underserviced Province (5%), Transformation in Key Black Management Positions (3%)
ELIGIBILITY
Tier 1 – Established film festivals and markets – A festival or market in this tier should ideally have been in operation for more than ten years and be able to show that they attract funding from multiple sources.
Tier 2 – Intermediate film festivals, markets and screenings that have been in operation for more than five years and fewer than ten years.
Tier 3 – Emerging film festivals, markets and screenings that have been in operation for fewer than five years.
Dates:
- Opening date for submissions- Project 1 (Stream 1 Group 2,Stream 2 and stream) : 01 October 2025 – 31 October 2025
Applicants must register and complete the online application form using the following link: https://nfvf.praxisgms.co.za/
Please note that failure to submit the key and compulsory documentation mentioned above will result in the application being incomplete and disqualified.
Applicants are also advised that providing false information or declarations will lead to the NFVF withdrawing funding.
All individuals employed by government departments, entities, municipalities and other services are not eligible to participate in the programme.
Late applications will not be accepted.
APPLICATION QUERIES MAY BE DIRECTED TO PESP@NFVF.CO.ZA, NOT APPLICATIONS@NFVF.CO.ZA