SAFTAs Cancelled For 2025
The 19th South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) have been confirmed not to be taking place over 2025.
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), which organizes the annual event, has confirmed that the ceremony has been rescheduled for next year, with the 2026 event set to stack film and TV from both years against each other.
This comes after months of silence on whether the event was to be taking place, with numerous filmmakers, artists, and broadcasters having complained about the lack of any update on their part from the organization. Nominations were meant to have opened for the event back in March, yet the NFVF failed to appoint a production company in time to for the show to be broadcast whilst communicating nothing to broadcasters and those in the industry.
The NFVF, which is fully funded by the South African government's Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, has been claimed to have experienced various financial and organizational difficulties over the years, with the 2008 SAFTAs having been the last such event to have been cancelled in this way. More recently, it has experienced numerous changes in both its CEOs and the personnel of its board members.
As a result of this rescheduling, the awards ceremony will now take place in March of next year, returning it to its usual time of the year following changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This transition has provided us with an opportunity to strengthen governance, sharpen our strategic focus, and reinforce the NFVF’s role as the custodian of the SAFTAs,” the NFVF has stated. “This adjustment also ensures that the SAFTAs align with the international awards calendar, providing South African talent the opportunity to be celebrated in parallel with major global film and television awards."
Dr. Rirhandzu Machaba, the current acting CEO of NFVF, has added that “in 2026 we look forward to celebrating an industry that continues to rise, inspire, and unite. SAFTAs19 will mark a moment for the industry to come together, reflect on our journey, and re-imagine the path ahead under the theme One Story, One Industry, One Future. It is both a celebration and a commitment: to tell our stories with pride, to stand together as one, and to work towards an even brighter future for South African film and television."
