US president Donald Trump with his wife, Melania Trump at the premiere of her new documentary “Melania”. The documentary Melania, a high-profile look into the life of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump during the 20 days surrounding her husband’s return to power, has been abruptly withdrawn from theatrical release in South Africa.
The film was scheduled to premiere today, January 30, across the country’s major cinema chains, including Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro, as well as independent venues such as Cape Town’s Labia Theatre. Filmfinity, the local distributor, confirmed the cancellation earlier this week. According to News24, the company’s head of marketing, Thobashan Govindarajulu, stated, “Given the current climate, the film will no longer be released theatrically in [the] territory.” He did not specify what “climate” he was referring to.
IOL reached out to the distribution company for further comment on the recent developments, but did not receive a response. Trump has frequently criticised Pretoria’s domestic policies and has repeated widely discredited claims that a “genocide” is being committed against South Africa’s white population. Despite these tensions, the exact motivations behind the distributor’s last-minute reversal remain unconfirmed.
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Nu Metro clarified its position to MyBroadband, stating, “We won’t be releasing Melania, as we don’t hold the rights to the film. The rights sit with Filmfinity, and it’s at their request that we are not releasing it.” Beyond the political backdrop, the documentary’s production has faced its own share of scrutiny. The film was directed by Brett Ratner, whose career largely stalled in 2017 following multiple, widely reported allegations of sexual misconduct.
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