Ireland–South Africa co-production treaty
Bilateral co-production agreement signed and ratified in 2012 between the Government of Ireland and the Government of South Africa. Covers film and television including drama, animation, documentary and digital-format content.
The South African competent authority is the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) — Film Office. The Irish side runs through DCCS and Screen Ireland (Fís Éireann).
Key thresholds
| Parameter | Bilateral | Trilateral (via Article 6) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum financial participation per party | 20% | 10% |
| Maximum financial participation per party | 80% | 80% |
| Minimum creative + technical effort per party | 20% | varies |
| Footage shot by co-producers | ≥ 90% | ≥ 90% |
| Proportionality (creative vs financial) | Required | Required |
Article 5(2) — both the financial contribution AND the performing, technical, craft and creative participation of each co-producer must each account for at least 20% of the total effort in making the co-production. This is the stronger formulation than the standard "in proportion" — South Africa wants a 20% effort floor on BOTH dimensions.
Article 8(2) — at least 90% of the footage included in the co-production must be shot by the co-producers themselves. Footage acquired from third parties counts against this floor.
Article 6 third-country provision
The treaty includes an explicit third-country co-production mode (Article 6) where contribution rules are adjusted. Notably, where one co-producer's contribution is limited (≤ 50%) the regular 20% minimum effort rules can be modified — but the framework is more constrained than the simpler "trilateral" pattern in the Canada / Australia treaties.
Consult Screen Ireland and the DTI Film Office early if planning a third-country structure on an IE-ZA treaty co-production.
What's covered
Film and television including drama, animation, documentary, and digital-format content. The digital-format inclusion is broader than several of the older treaties.
Pitfalls
Two 20% floors, not one. South Africa requires BOTH a 20% financial floor AND a 20% creative+technical effort floor — independently. A producer can satisfy the financial side but miss the effort floor if the creative crew is too heavily weighted to one party. Plan the crew structure to match the financial split.
90% footage by co-producers. Stock footage / acquired material counts against the 90% floor. Documentaries leaning heavily on archive material can fail this clause even if the financial structure passes.
Competent authorities
| Side | Authority |
|---|---|
| Ireland | Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (DCCS) with Screen Ireland (Fís Éireann) |
| South Africa | Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) — Film Office |
How Togra supports this
The Co-Production Structurer runs the ie_za_2012 scheme scorer with the 20/80 financial band, sums-to-100% check, proportionality check, and the 20% effort floor surfaced as a manual-verification item. The 90% co-producer footage rule appears as a partial-pass clause flagged for manual verification — Togra captures the footage rule as documentation but doesn't yet capture a footage-split-per-producer field, so producers verify it against production records before finalising.
Related
Sources
- · Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of South Africa concerning the co-production of films, signed and ratified 2012
- · Screen Ireland South Africa Co-Production page · screenireland.ie/filming/international-co-production/south-africa