Spain to invest £11m in African production duo

Spain is to invest almost €13m (£11m) in two South African production companies, marking the latest backing in the audiovisual sector from the European country’s government.

Two new film and TV ventures run by African media conglomerate Known Associates Group (KAG) will receive a total of €12.7m in Spanish public funding through the state-owned Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT).

One is Madrid-based Moonlighting Studios Spain, an offshoot of South African production and servicing company Moonlighting Films, whose credits range from Mad Max: Fury Road and The Woman King to Paramount Picture’s soon to be released Children Of Blood And Bone.

Moonlighting also works regularly with Netflix and Amazon Prime in South Africa.

Moonlighting Studios Spain will be involved in co-productions and will develop its own IP alongside its servicing work. The company is building an initial slate of at least 10 features and documentaries.

SETT will invest €8.8m in Moonlighting Studios Spain, which is expected to receive a total capital injection of €18m. It is also receiving private South African investment through Sinobukoshi Investments, a company led by entrepreneur Luleka Masinda, who is active in technology, resources, and commercial intellectual property.

Meanwhile, KAG-owned The Refinery will launch a new Spanish division, with SETT taking a 49% stake for a €3.9m investment.

The Refinery is one of South Africa’s leading VFX and post production houses. Its new Spanish division will establish two studios, one in the Canary Islands and the other in Bilbao. Sinobukoshi will hold 15% of the shares in the Refinery’s new Spanish arm, while KAG will have a 36% stake.

Known Associates Group was founded in 2014 by chief exec Tshepiso Chikapa-Phiri, who leads the company with producer and group chairman Joel Chikapa-Phiri.

The investment comes just a week after SETT revealed it is investing almost €40m (£35m) to support the launch of Ítaca Films Madrid and a Spanish arm of Mexico’s Grupo Ítaca.

Strategy and expansion

Speaking to Broadcast International sibling title Screen, Chikapa-Phiri pledged to create hundreds of new jobs in the Spanish industry. She has also given early details of production plans.

“As part of our business strategy, we are looking at an expansion into Europe,” she said, explaining why KAG had responded to SETT’s call for applications. “When I look at Spain and compare it to South Africa, I see that we could have been on the same trajectory had our government maintained our growth momentum. Unfortunately, because of the stalling of the film and TV incentive, that has made South Africa fall behind.”

The chief exec confirmed though that Known Associates Group would have looked to expand beyond South Africa even if there hadn’t been teething troubles with the incentive.

A studio venture in Malta is also expected to be announced soon and the company may also try to establish footholds in North America and Latin America as well as in the UK.

“The challenge that South Africa faced with the incentive actually became an opportunity for us because we realised that it was time to put in place our expansion strategy much faster than we would have done had everything been functioning efficiently,” she said.

“Quite interestingly, this is a foreign direct investment from Africa into Europe, which I think is a first in our industry,” Chikapa-Phiri commented.

The aim now is to greenlight a first Spanish production before the end of the year. This is likely to be a Basque remake of Jonathan Parkinson’s 2024 youth-oriented comedy crime-thriller, The Drop.

“We are already talking to local directors, looking at the script and adjusting it for the Basque region and we already have a Basque partner in [La Plata] Films,” the Chikapa-Phiri said.

“That’s our intent, creating hundreds of jobs for the Spanish market, hiring Spanish people to work in our business here in Spain and hopefully, through our profitability, continuing to re-invest in South Africa,” she added.

One goal is to bring young people into the industry in both countries. Some films will shoot in Spain and do post in South Africa and others vice versa.

Most of the projects made in.Spain will be English-language. The slate will include documentaries as well as dramatic features. KAG will invest up to €2m of equity in the films it backs.

A version of this article first appeared on Broadcast International sister site Screen