1996

Leon Schuster's "Panic Mechanic" broke local box office records (R16million).

1980

Jamie Uys's "The Gods must be Crazy" was released. It was criticised for not paying the Khoisan actors royalties.

July 1975

SABC began transmission

1975

Andre Pieterse's e'Lollipop was released

1974

Simon M Sabela was the first black South African to direct a locally produced film.

1973

Ross Devenish's "Boesman and Lena" was the first film to portray the forced removals.

1955

Jamie Uys's "Daar Doer in die Bosveld" was the first South African colour film.

1949

The first film with an all black cast, Donald Swanson's "Jim" was released.

1949

South Africa's first musical film, Pierre de Wet's "Kom Saam Vanaand" was a box office hit.

1948

Cecil Kellaway was the first South African actor to be nominated for an Academy Award, as supporting actor in Henry Koster's "The Luck of the Irish".

1939

The African mirror got sound.

1931

The first film society was formed in Cape Town.

1931

South Africa's first sound films (Albrecht's Sarie Marais and Moedertjie) were screened at the opening of Pretoria's Capitol Theatre.

1910

The first South African full-length drama film produced entirely in South Africa was released (the Great Train Robbery).

1910

The first Electric Theatre for coloured people only opened in Durban and the first programmes showed scenes outside the mosque in Grey Street.

1906

An England versus South Africa cricket match at Newlands was shot by an amateur cameraman and screened at the Tivoli Music Hall in Cape Town.

1903

Moving pictures were being characterised as "tragic, humourous or dramatic".

19 April 1895

The first Kinetescope (a Thomas Edison invention) was opened to the public at Henwoods Arcade in Johannesburg.