Cinemas across South Africa will not screen the documentary chronicling the 20 days leading up to former US First Lady Melania Trump's husband's second inauguration, according to reports Friday. Filmfinity, the local distributor, informed the New York Times and News24 that it elected against a theatrical rollout, though specific reasons were not explicitly detailed.
Thobashan Govindarajulu, Filmfinity's head of sales and marketing, cited "recent developments" and the "current climate" as the basis for shelving the release in the territory. The distributor, which claims to be the leading film distributor in southern Africa, declined to elaborate on the factors influencing this decision, according to the New York Times.
The film, reportedly backed by Amazon with an estimated $35 million marketing spend and $40 million acquisition cost, is not currently listed on the schedules of South Africa's major cinema operators, Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro. An independent Cape Town cinema, Labia, stated Filmfinity directly instructed it not to list showtimes for the documentary.
This decision occurs against a backdrop of significantly strained diplomatic relations between Pretoria and Washington over the past year. Tensions escalated following former President Trump's promotion of the unsubstantiated claim of a 'white genocide' targeting South Africa's Afrikaner community.
Further friction points included a tense 2023 White House meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the genocide allegations. The US administration also implemented high tariffs on South African goods and curtailed certain aid programs in response to geopolitical disagreements.
Geopolitical tensions were further exacerbated by Pretoria's role in initiating the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning actions in Gaza. The US ally strongly contests the ICJ allegations, labeling them as baseless.
The withdrawal of a commercially distributed film, reportedly backed by a major US technology firm, suggests that local market dynamics are being influenced by prevailing political sensitivities between the two nations. Filmfinity's refusal to elaborate leaves the precise nexus between the 'climate' and the distribution decision open to interpretation.
