Cape Town is the production location following an increase in the number of filming permits issued during the 2023–24 financial year.
The Cape Town Film Permit Office issued 4 757 film permits between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, a 22% increase from the 3 910 permits issued in the preceding financial year (2022/23).
This includes permits for feature films, commercials, TV series, still photography, documentary films, short films, student projects, and music videos.
Cape Town has previously been used as a location for shooting some of the hit series, such as Blood and Water, The Wheel of Time, Warrior, and for filming of the Outlander and The Crown.
The latest hit production which has just started filming in Cape Town again has been live-action adaptation of adventure manga One Piece. Netflix recently has announced the start of production on season two of the beloved show.
The new season is reuniting the original Straw Hat crew, Iñaki Godoy (Monkey D Luffy), Mackenyu (Zoro), Emily Rudd (Nami), Jacob Romero (Usopp) and Taz Skylar (Sanji) as they get back together in Cape Town.
It’s happening, Nakama! 🏴☠️ From around the world, our Straw Hats have reunited to begin filming their epic Season 2 adventure! There’s no better place to start this journey than the deck of the Going Merry with @InakiGodoy @Mackenyu1116 @emilysteaparty @itsbookofjacob and… pic.twitter.com/zgROgfAEZO
— ONE PIECE(ワンピース) Netflix (@onepiecenetflix) July 1, 2024
Eagle-eyed Capetonians have been spotting a number of Hollywood celebrities popping up in the City for stretches at a time to shoot commercials, films and TV shows.
Spotted over the past few months were Viola Davids, Glenn Powell and Josh Duhamel.
According to the Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, the permit office also received bookings for more than 9 317 film locations in the same period.
"Commercials made up the bulk of the film shoots over the last financial year, with 1 604 permits issued.
"This was followed by micro shoots at 962 permits.
"There were 168 large feature films shot in Cape Town between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. This has almost doubled from the previous year,” Smith said.
Smith said Cape Town attracted a lot of film productions during the summer season due to a number of factors, including our beautiful long summer days.
“However, what we have seen over the last couple of years is that filming is increasingly becoming an all-year business, which is good for both the industry and Cape Town.
“We are seeing more and more productions taking place in the winter months and this was the case for the concluding financial year. This is critical for an industry that contributes billions to the economy and employs over 30 000 people.
In an effort to further boost the film industry, the city froze tariffs for filming in Cape Town for the fourth year. This includes zero-rated fees for the deployment of metro police and traffic services to assist where road closures are required.
The freeze on safety and security tariffs for filming has saved the film industry nearly R700 000 in production costs.