South African film and television students have until 17:00 on Monday to submit through the NFVF online system. Missing or uncertified documents can disqualify an application.
South African students seeking support for film or television studies have until 17:00 on Monday, 31 August 2026 to complete the National Film and Video Foundation’s national bursary application.
The current NFVF call directs applicants to its online grant-management system. It says applications sent by email or fax will not be considered, while incomplete forms, incorrect information, missing supporting documents and uncertified documents can disqualify an application.
That makes the final check more important than simply starting the online form before the deadline. Applicants need to confirm that they fit the study criteria, that their evidence is current and that every required upload has been attached before submitting.
The call is for South African citizens who have passed matric, have a good academic record and can demonstrate financial need.
Applicants must be registered or provisionally registered for full-time undergraduate study, a postgraduate diploma or a degree in a film or television discipline at an accredited South African tertiary institution.
The course boundary is important. The NFVF expressly excludes performing arts, acting, music and dancing, as well as courses that do not fall within film or television. A course with a creative title is therefore not automatically eligible; the qualification and institution must meet the published requirements.
Preference will be given to students at South African public tertiary institutions. The notice also warns that a student approved while enrolled at a public institution may not later move to a private institution without losing the funding.
The 2026 call identifies the following application material:
The source lists both a matric-certificate-or-results item and a Senior Certificate item. Applicants should not assume that one upload automatically satisfies both fields. If the portal is unclear, the safest course is to ask the named NFVF applications officers before the deadline rather than omit a requested document.
The wording around financial evidence also needs care. It gives one list for a minor who is unemployed, then says an applicant “older than 21 years” must provide their own proof of financial need. It does not clearly explain the evidence expected from applicants aged 18 to 21. People in that bracket should seek case-specific clarification from the NFVF instead of guessing.
The call says financial need, academic performance, motivation, demographics and the NFVF’s developmental mandate form part of selection.
For the financial criterion, it identifies qualifying applicants whose parents or guardians — where the applicant is a minor — have combined annual income below R600,000. Students who are already studying need an aggregate of at least 60%, together with the pass rate required to progress to the next year. Where final matric results are not yet available, Grade 11 or matric mid-year results may be assessed, with approval dependent on tertiary acceptance.
Those thresholds establish eligibility and assessment factors; they do not guarantee an award. Applicants should also avoid turning a practical motivation letter into unsupported claims. A useful final edit is to check that it explains the chosen film or television course, the intended career direction and the need for support in language consistent with the evidence supplied.
The current call lists full tuition fees, supported by an institution’s fee breakdown, as a qualifying expense. Accommodation, meals, textbooks, a computer or software may also qualify subject to available funds and supporting quotations or invoices.
Accommodation, meals and additional resources are capped at a combined R50,000 per year and, under this call, that additional support applies only to first-year students. Travel is excluded.
Applicants should therefore distinguish the tuition component from the capped additional-cost component. They should not budget on the assumption that every requested expense will be approved or that the bursary will cover an entire cost of living.
The NFVF portal at nfvf.praxisgms.co.za is the stated submission route. The call lists 011 483 0880 and the named applications officers for process queries. With late applications excluded, any uncertainty about documents, age-band evidence or course eligibility is best raised before Monday’s 17:00 cut-off.
