Twenty years after South Africa's first democratic elections, what is the state of film and media studies education at the country's higher education institutions? The article examines several key debates, from calls for the decolonisation of curricula to the tension between internationalisation and local research in local media industries. Is film and media studies reiterating "the logic of the present system", or does it offer new avenues for scholars to pursue progressive and decolonising projects in the South African university?