Film production in South Africa
South Africa is covered here with 4 locations. Between the longest and shortest day, usable light swings by up to 4h 30min depending on where you shoot — planning across the country is not planning one single kind of day.
Locations at a glance
The table shows June and December daylight for each location — the two numbers a schedule hinges on across the year.
| Location | Daylight June | Daylight December | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Town | 9h 54min | 14h 24min | 4h 30min |
| Durban | 10h 14min | 14h 03min | 3h 49min |
| Johannesburg | 10h 30min | 13h 46min | 3h 16min |
| Pretoria | 10h 32min | 13h 44min | 3h 12min |
What that means for planning
Cape Town has the widest swing at 4h 30min, Pretoria the narrowest at 3h 12min. The wider the spread, the more a schedule has to differ between summer and winter — same setup count, different hours to fit it in.
Concretely: in December, the sun in Cape Town sets at 19:54, with golden hour starting as early as 19:17. Put the exterior at the end of the day and you shoot it in the dark, or not at all.
TillyGen folds each location's sun position straight into the schedule. An exterior that no longer fits before sunset in December is flagged in the plan, not discovered on the day. The same calculation sits behind every location page for this country.
Film incentives and rebates
South Africa returns 25 % of South African production spend. Cape Town is Europe's winter escape: southern summer light during the European off-season, strong commercial crews and looks from desert to coastal city.
What that means in practice depends on the qualifying share: on a €1m budget with 70 % qualifying spend, the 25 % rate returns roughly €175,000. Provided without warranty. Permit and incentive conditions change; the responsible authority is always the binding source.
As of: 2025-01 · Source: thedtic.gov.za
Permits and local requirements
Filming permits are granted locally almost everywhere, not nationally: the city or district you shoot in is the responsible body, and processing times differ considerably within the same country. Public space, traffic areas and drone flights each run through separate procedures.
File early enough that a refusal still leaves room for a cover location — not so late that the permit becomes the condition for the only possible shoot day. Only the responsible local authority gives binding information.
Frequently asked
How many locations in South Africa are covered here?
4. Locations are included when there is an evidenced production landscape — not every town in the country.
Which location in South Africa has the longest shooting days?
In June, Cape Town with 9h 54min of daylight. In December that drops to 14h 24min.
When is the best time to shoot in South Africa?
On daylight length alone, December. Whether that also means the steadiest weather depends on the location — the individual location pages carry rain days and sunshine hours per month.
Do I need a separate permit for every location?
As a rule yes, as soon as public ground is involved. Private locations run through the owner; traffic areas and drones add further procedures. The local authority is always the binding source.