The South African television landscape has seen a surge of explicit content in recent years, and while the shows might draw a lot of eyeballs, they are being produced in a country that grapples with some of the highest GBV statistics, so what really happens on the set of such a production?
Actress Nirvana Nokwe-Mseleku recently alleged she was sexually assaulted by Bonko Khoza in 2023 during the filming of the first episode of thriller series Red Ink. The series is based on a novel by Angela Makholwa, which follows the life of Lucy Khambule, whose life drastically changes when an incarcerated serial killer, Napoleon “The Butcher” Dingiswayo, contacts her to write his story.
While Bonko has denied the allegations, the conversation continues to grow beyond the incident in the film and television industry.
Director Sara Blecher — who has worked on the sets of Netflix, HBO, Showmax, BET Africa and others — explains how the shift into intimacy co-ordination was born out of the realisation that the traditional filming methods were putting people in danger.
“When streamers came into the country, they didn’t come in with restrictions like the SABC and the rest, so they were able to make intimate content. Intimate content sells. It’s like soft porn, and people want to watch that. They get more eyeballs,” she told TshisaLIVE.
The role of an intimacy co-ordinator is to ensure that the sex scenes look real on camera while protecting the actors involved.
“To be able to show [sex scenes] in a way that is safe is the point. Not to shoot intimate content that allows for further abuse; that’s why you have to have an intimacy co-ordinator,” she said.
Sara explains that they first meet directors to understand the vision of the scene and sit with the actors involved — both together and separately — to understand their boundaries, do a risk assessment and understand how to mitigate it before the filming of intimate content.
“From the first meeting, it is documented because, as an intimacy co-ordinator, you’re the witness. You know what their boundaries are, you know what everybody has agreed to, you’re watching it on set and you know when those boundaries are being violated.”
Adhesive strapless thongs, genital pouches, c-strings, silicone barriers and even pillows are among the tools that intimacy co-ordinators use to imply nudity and sexual scenes while protecting the actors involved.
“We put barriers in place, masking, etc, so that the scene tells the story that directors want us to tell but within the boundaries that the actors have not only told us but also told each other with us present.
“We give actors safe words so that the minute they are uncomfortable, they stop the action.”
While usually only a director can call a halt to filming, on an intimate scene set, any actor can stop at any point when they feel uncomfortable. “You can get carried away when you’re in character, that’s a natural thing that happens. So if an actor feels the scene is going too far, they will say the safe word and both actors will stop.
“An intimacy co-ordinator can also stop the scene if you see that anybody is being violated or their boundaries are not being adhered to.”
Getting a stunt or intimacy co-ordinator on set per day in South Africa ranges from R4,000-R12,000.
For many years, people in the film and television industry have called for regulations.
In an extreme case, actor Odwa Shweni fell to his death during a movie rehearsal at Sterkspruit Waterfall in the Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, in 2018. This raised questions about safety protocols for actors while they are working.
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