Malaysian film industry aims to expand

Malaysia’s National Film Development Corporation (Finas) plans to approve 10 films under its Fictional Films Loan Fund, that will see it disbursing capital of RM50 million (US$14.9 million) this year.

In addition, Finas plans to approve 20 projects involving allocations of RM500,000 each and another three nationalistic films under the Film Arts and Multimedia Fund.

According to Finas director-general, Mohd Mahyidin Mustakim, the agency expects at least six feature films to be processed at the four-storey. state-of-the-art studio costing RM53 million called the Digital Mix Stage Studio that started operations last year.

Finas will also take positive steps in developing human resources in this field by hosting 38 workshops and six master class programmes.

The efforts taken by Finas aims to create a conducive environment for the development of the Malaysian film industry and to encourage the opening of more cinemas in the future. Presently, there are more than 90 cineplexes with 500 screens nationwide.

The Malaysian film industry has made important progress over the last few years. In 2009, there were 26 cinematic releases with a total collection of RM50 million. This compares favourably with the situation 10 years ago when only seven films were produced with ticket sales amounting to RM10 million.

The outlook for 2010 looks even brighter with 30 releases on the cards and box office collection expected to exceed RM55 million. Getting the year off to a good start is the highly successful Adnan Sempit, produced by Metrowealth International Group (MIG). that has raked in RM7.5 million since screening started in January.

At broadcast level, Finas collaborated with the National Geographic Channel, Discovery and History Channel to produce several documentaries on Malaysia that was broadcast worldwide through these channels.

“This helped to highlight Malaysia at the international stage and train local industry players as the programmes were produced under the supervision of renowned broadcasters,” Mahyidin told national news agency Bernama.

A total of 14 documentaries have been produced through this collaboration last year alone – five by Finas and Discovery Networks Asia, two by National Geographic Channels and seven by AETN All Asia Networks.

The documentary and animation project received encouraging response from export markets. As such, BBC and National Geographic expressed their interest in the Malaysian film industry and this provides optimism to Mahyidin on Malaysian films’ potential in the overseas market.

Finas’ helping hand towards the film industry is part of the agency’s ongoing support for the industry. Before the National Film Policy (DFN) came into effect in 2005, Finas provided several basic facilities apart from the Compulsory Screening Scheme and the entertainment duty refund to help local filmmakers.

The compulsory two-week screening pre-requisite throws a lifeline for local film producers who otherwise have no chance of competing with foreign productions. Producers can now complete almost whole entire production process at the Digital Mix Stage Studio. Only the final print needs to be produced overseas.

To promote the fictional, animation and documentary films, Finas has identified annual film markets –

American Film Market, Cannes, Hong Kong and Busan in South Korea.

“Between 10 and 14 film makers will be sent to attend the film markets with Finas sponsoring the exhibition booth and the fees for the participants,” said Mahyidin.

These efforts are also to entice foreign investors in the long term in line with Finas’ vision as the leading proponent and catalyst of the Malaysian film industry.

In reaffirming the government’s support for local creative industries, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in his Budget 2010 speech, announced that a comprehensive Creative Industry Policy is being formulated.

Also on the cards are provisions for a RM200 million Creative Industry Fund and RM3 million Arts Activist Welfare Fund. In addition, Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim recently announced that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has allocated RM50 million for the making of local documentary films to be aired over Malaysian cable provider Astro’s Discovery and National Geographic channels.

Malaysian filmmakers generally feel that their contribution to the economy is neither well understood nor appreciated by consumers, most of whom appear to pay scant respect for intellectual property (IP). Producers are compelled to assign away their IP rights to private television stations that have the capacity to take their work to the market.

Advancement in digital content creation – while paving the way for innovative filmmaking – has also created unprecedented challenges for copyright law, challenging revenue raising models and resulting in far reaching effects across the creative industries.

The Video and Film Industry Association of Malaysia reportedly complained that CD pirates were sucking the life out of the film industry. There was a need for a solid legal foundation with respect to rights management to support

these kinds of activities and to take full advantage of digital technologies.

To safeguard the interest of content creators, the Malaysian government has undertaken to spearhead a review and revision of the Malaysia Copyright Act 1987, to provide for a heavier penalty for IP infringement as well as ensure the equitable implementation of the Act.

The government also established a National Innovation Centre and a network of Centres of Innovation Excellence, to encourage creative and innovative solutions, which it believes will lead to improvements in terms of efficiency in management and the delivery system.

However, the parameters of

what constitutes a Malaysian film are not clearly defined.

Finas incentives in the form of the Compulsory Screening Scheme and 20 percent tax rebate only apply to films with 70 percent of their dialogue in Bahasa Malaysia. Malaysian-made films in other languages do not enjoy these incentives.

Malaysian Film Producers Association president, Ahmad Puad Onah, said the association had sent a memorandum asking for equal treatment of all Malaysian-made films to Finas in July last year. The memorandum was also submitted to the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry.

Tayangan Unggul general manager Gayatri Su Lin Pillai agrees with Ahmad Puad that all Malaysian-made films, irrespective of language, should get the same incentives.

“There is a market for locally-made non-Malay films. Unfortunately, not many producers are willing to make them because of the risks involved,” said Pillai.

The company’s first Chinese-language movie, Tiger Woohoo, was proof that a Malaysian production could compete with products from Hong Kong and China. Tiger Woohoo collected more than RM2 million at the box office, becoming the most successful non-Malay film.

KRU Films recently released its first English-language film, The Malay Chronicles (The Chronicles of Merong Mahawangsa).

Metrowealth International Group David Teo and his company, Metrowealth International Group (MIG), are behind successful titles like Remp It, Congkak, Jangan Pandang Belakang and some 40 other popular Malay movies. MIG’s latest production, Adnan Sempit, made history by netting RM7.7mil in the box office in a matter of 35 days. It is considered Malaysia’s all-time hit in the Malay film industry. Other films like Remp It, which exposed the activities of illegal bikers, grossed RM4mil; and horror flick Jangan Pandang Belakang, the first Malay movie to be screened in several South-East Asian countries, raked in RM7.5mil. Of the 43 titles he has produced so far, 26 have made more than RM2mil in box office collection – phenomenal by Malaysian standards. Most of his films did not sell on a cast of big names, and the cost of production was fixed at between RM1.5mil and RM1.8mil. Teo, who is also a director on the board of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas), made the switch into filmmaking after making his money in direct selling. His first movie, Syukur 21, produced in 2000, cost RM3.7mil which was way above the original budget of RM800,000. The company lost RM2.7mil from the movie. The second, No Problem, took the low-budget approach and cost only RM650,000 to produce but the collection was a meagre RM100,000. His third attempt, Mendam Berahi, which featured celebrities from Indonesia and the Philippines, fared no better and caused him to lose RM700,000. The fourth film and what followed next have all been money generators. MIG made 10 films last year and has targeted 15 for 2010. At any one time, there are six production teams working.