Anant Singh is a doyen of the South African film industry and one of its foremost pioneers

Anant Singh has been passionate about film from the time he was a mere 10 years old. By his own admission, he used to watch silent movies featuring the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

South Africa did not have television until 1976, and the only means of entertainment then, other than going to movie theatres, was home movies.

Fast-forward to the present and Singh is the chief executive officer of Videovision Entertainment, which currently ranks as one of the largest independent distributors of motion pictures in southern Africa.

His firm acquired the film rights to Cry, the Beloved Country in 1991, though production was halted until democracy in 1994. In the process, Singh used his skill as a filmmaker to advance Nelson Mandela’s calls for a free country. The film premiered in New York in 1995.

In co-operation with New Radio Consortium, which includes Kagiso Trust Investments Company and Johnny Clegg, Videovision Entertainment acquired OFM Radio Oranje and East Coast Radio.

Singh’s collaboration with Leon Schuster was a box office success, with Mr Bones 2: Back from the Past earning more than R35 million, while Mr Bones grossed R33m and Mama Jack raked in R28m.

This is one of South Africa’s biggest successes in the film industry, albeit one with tough beginnings that catapulted Singh to where he is today.

“When I was in high school, I worked in a film hire store, rewinding movies for R1 a day,” recalls Singh. “I guess the entrepreneurial spirit evolved from there, when I began to screen films to kids in the neighborhood and realised there was an opportunity to make some money.

“That evolution resulted in renewed passion for film, and I was happy to work during holidays, weekends and after school hours.”

After completing Matric, Singh dreamt of going to film school, but the only one available was located in Pretoria – and was reserved for whites. Determined not to allow apartheid to deter his ambitions, he took up engineering, while pursuing his passion for a career in film alongside his degree.

Singh’s remarkable success did not come easily. He worked 18-hour days, trying to grasp all aspects of the film industry. “This was an industry that was dominated by whites and I was the only person of colour to be in it at the time,” he explains. “I was excluded from every opportunity that whites had and this was part of my motivation, which pushed me to succeed at all costs and try to do the best I could.“

With relentless drive, Singh hatched a plan to make good quality movies, when the ANC and Mandela called on all South Africans to make a difference in any way they could, in the quest for freedom. For Singh, “film was the medium”. So came Place of Weeping, his first motion picture as an anti-apartheid activist, which he created on the run from the police.

Singh believes the opportunities that exist for young people today are immense. He believes each person needs to “embrace these openings with no sense of entitlement, other than personal commitment and passion”.

“In our industry, technology is so advanced that one can even make a film on one’s cellphone. The industry itself has developed substantially, and what is really exciting is the emerging young talent coming out of film school and beginning to make films,” he says.

When asked to project potential growth areas, Singh points out that “immense” opportunities are emerging for young entrepreneurs in the media, entertainment and information technology sectors. “This is a global phenomenon, and we are already beginning to see results.”

As a successful professional, he humbly recalls his good fortune of knowing Mandela personally, revealing that the iconic global leader has had a lasting influence on his life. “I think this is true of many people in South Africa, and we are very fortunate to have him; people like Ahmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu and Mac Maharaj led our liberation struggle,” he adds.

Today, Singh holds the coveted film rights to Mandela’s autobiography, A Long Walk To Freedom.

Singh’s professional work has meant interactions with many influential world leaders and entertainers, including the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat and Sonia Gandhi. In entertainment circles, Sidney Poitier, Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg and Hilary Swank are just a few big names with whom he has rubbed shoulders.

When Black Business Quarterly asked if he had a particular phrase that summed up his approach to business and life, Singh did not mince words: “I think, just total commitment (unequivocally) is most important. Honesty and integrity and building of values for the long term are also key.”

He says making motion pictures is very much like having children. “You try your best, work hard; as such, one’s commitment to each motion picture is the same.

“Sometimes, some turn out better and, of course, those are best experiences,” Singh adds with a chuckle.

When asked to consider his greatest successes to date, he cites his first film, Place of Weeping, as a defining moment, particularly given the major obstacles that had to be overcome.

“The ability to release it in South Africa at the height of the apartheid system (with its brutal police), when cinemas were segregated, was an achievement,” he says.

Thus director Darrell Roodt (a white South African) and Singh could not watch the film in the same theatre.

A film such as Sarafina!, however, was a milestone for him. It was the first South African movie to be entered at the Cannes Film Festival, enjoying wide acclaim across the globe.

Other significant works are Cry, the Beloved Country and the Oscar-nominated Yesterday.

In the face of both political and business challenges, Singh’s career has been far from plain sailing. Yet, despite the odds, his global success has eclipsed the difficult circumstances under which his dream was born.

The apartheid system was the first hurdle: In those days, credit could be extended only to white filmmakers, but the same companies would not advance a similar facility to him.

“Nonetheless, whatever I did, I learnt by trial and error and had to put up personal guarantees,” he recalls. “In any event, I think that this laid the foundation for my business, and I accepted the challenges as something I needed to deal with, though they were very frustrating at the time.”

Hot on the heels of political barriers, banks were another major challenge. A major South African bank declined to grant a R3 000 loan, and rejected several of Singh’s cheques. He then moved to another financial institution and, 33 years later, he remains a loyal – and no doubt lucrative – client.

When discussing the mix between his personal life and public persona, Singh is quick to acknowledge that individuals like him live and work in the entertainment world, “which is pretty much public”.

He says that as a consequence, one has to be very careful in balancing the two: “We try to draw a line between our private and public lives. It is difficult, but we do the best we can.”

Singh is married to Vanashree Moodley and has a son and daughter.

He is the chairperson of Cape Town Film Studios, the first custom-built film studio complex in Africa. He is a former board member of Artists for A New South Africa in Los Angeles and served on the board that organised and advised architects of the Mandela 46664 concert.

Singh is a past president of the Independent Producers Organisation, and served on the board of the International Marketing Council of South Africa.

He is a member of the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) Board of Governors for Media and Entertainment, and the WEF’s Global Agenda Council.

The South African film industry honoured Singh for his significant contribution to the advancement of the industry, with the inaugural Golden Horn Award for Outstanding Contribution, at the first South African Film and Television Awards that took place in October 2006.

So what advice does Singh offer the emerging generation of South African filmmakers and those looking to invest in arts and entertainment?

“The industry worldwide is filled with stories of people making low-budget films and achieving success,” he points out.

He says that, going by his experience, failure is a stepping stone to success. “I think that people need to follow their passion and work hard, but there are also opportunities, such as government incentives, as a result of recognition of the film industry as a strategic one.”

Singh notes that such support is very beneficial to young entrepreneurs, and advises emerging players that, in addition to existing incentives, there are intern programmes of which they could take advantage.

“South Africa has a unique opportunity right now, in that the world is very keen to work here,” he explains. He reiterates the view that South Africa is one of the best locations in which to seek success in film and entertainment.

Combined with incentives from the Department of Trade and Industry, many international films have been shooting in South Africa for some time, and this trend continues.

“This brings international filmmakers to our country who, in turn, work with local filmmakers – and the latter develop and grow from it,” says Singh. He hopes this will allow local talent to explode and tell South African stories, so that an indigenous industry can grow and expand in stature.

At the same time, Singh expresses the need to develop the industry to a point where local audiences watch films in greater numbers.

“This trend seems to be growing, as Spud enjoyed significant success over the last holiday period. Let’s hope the film industry continues to develop to the same level.

"It is a global opportunity, and we are already seeing potential," he concludes.

Gareth Bloor

Acknowledgement: "South Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs" by Moky Makura