Zaxploitation

Zaxploitation refers to a category of exploitation films produced within the South African film industry or in collaboration with international producers. These films can be broadly categorized into three groups:

• Domestic productions: Films created by South African filmmakers, often targeting both local and international audiences.
• Co-productions: Films produced in collaboration with international partners, frequently leveraging South Africa as a cost-effective filming location.
• "Darkest Africa" films: A subset of films perpetuating colonial-era stereotypes, depicting Africa as savage and exotic.

Background

The development of Zaxploitation films in South Africa is closely tied to the country's complex history and the evolution of its film culture. According to authors Isabel Balseiro and Ntongela Masilela, the growth of film culture in South Africa occurred in stages, ultimately contributing to the country's status as the most prosperous filmmaking presence on the continent by the 1970s.

The rapid pace of European modernity in South Africa, driven by immigration and the gold rush in the Transvaal, had a profound impact on the country's film industry. This period of modernization inspired the work of Thelma Gutsche, a prominent film critic and academic.

The Central African Film Unit's work in South Africa, particularly the 1948 pseudo-documentary "The Two Farmers," demonstrates the early influence of colonial-era cinema on the country's film industry. This film, which promoted colonial values and agricultural practices to a native audience, set the stage for the development of Zaxploitation films in the decades that followed.