Major South African cinema chains have made a last-minute decision to cancel the theatrical release of a documentary focusing on U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. The film, titled ‘Melania,’ was scheduled for international debut on January 30 but has been unexpectedly withdrawn from South African screens.
Both Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor, the country’s leading theater chains, removed all listings for the documentary from their websites on Thursday, just one day before its planned release. The sudden cancellation was initiated by the local distributor Filmfinity, which holds the regional rights to the film.
Thobashan Govindarajulu, Filmfinity’s Head of Marketing, cited ‘the current climate’ as the reason for pulling the documentary, though no specific details were provided regarding what this climate entails. Representatives from Nu Metro confirmed to AFP that they had complied with Filmfinity’s request to withdraw the film, stating ‘The rights sit with Filmfinity, and it’s at their request that we are not releasing it.’
The decision comes against a backdrop of increasingly strained relations between the South African government and the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made controversial statements regarding South Africa’s domestic policies, including unfounded claims about ‘genocide’ against white Afrikaans farmers, whom he has invited to seek refuge in the United States. These diplomatic tensions appear to have influenced the commercial decision regarding the First Lady’s documentary, though no official connection has been confirmed.