ASEAN film industries share common problems<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The ASEAN Film Festival, bringing together
\nmovie stars, producers, film distributors and government
\nofficials, have ended with no resolution to the problems plaguing
\nthe regional film industry.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN members: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
\nBrunei Darussalam and the Philippines, did learn during the four-
\nday meeting that they had in common the specter of growing
\nHollywood encroachment on their markets.<\/p>\n
The forecast appears even more grim as the Hollywood bigwigs,
\nin collaboration with local business communities, appear to be
\nset on taking over local cinemas.<\/p>\n
Audiences also appear uninterested in quality locally made
\nfilms, preferring instead titillating tales laden with sex and
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, the number of imported movies, mainly from
\nHollywood and Hong Kong, reaches around 600 titles a year,
\ncompared to the paltry 25 local films shown in the cinemas.<\/p>\n
\"The situation is already under the control of the imported
\nfilms,\" Malaysian film director Mahadi J. Murat told The Jakarta
\nPost before the event ended Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The same problem is evident in Singapore, where about 99
\npercent of movies screened are from Hollywood and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
The Philippines fares slightly better. Last year, there were
\n400 imported movies shown in local cinemas compared to the 180
\nlocally produced titles.<\/p>\n
\"We all share the same problem,\" Filipino actress Regina
\nEigenmann told the meeting. \"We need a big budget (to make
\nquality films) but people don't go to see them.\"<\/p>\n
As a result, the ASEAN film industry has been mired by
\nplummeting ticket sales and steadily decreasing film production
\nin recent years.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, once billed as one of the largest film producing
\ncountries in this region, produced just 26 films last year. About
\n150 films were produced annually in the heyday of the 1970s and
\nearly 1980s.<\/p>\n
\"Why should we make films if even good films cannot sell well
\nin the market?\" Indonesian actress Ninik L. Karim told the Post.<\/p>\n
Another factor hampering the ASEAN film industry is the rapid
\ndevelopment of new and sophisticated cinema complexes
\n(cinemaplex), which has led to the closing down of many older
\nmovie theaters, particularly for lower-class audiences.<\/p>\n
These old cinemas had supported the golden era of the local
\nfilm industry.<\/p>\n
The mushrooming of private televisions stations and the
\nprevalence of videos and laser discs in most of the ASEAN
\ncountries had also contributed to the downturn in movie theater
\nattendance, delegates said.<\/p>\n
Weaknesses<\/p>\n
Participants owned up to weaknesses in their operations which
\nhad also played a role in rendering local films strangers in
\ntheir homelands.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have enough technology, qualified human resources
\nand strong cooperation among film community members in this
\nregion,\" complained producer Manuel M. Nuqui from the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
Religious considerations and the close ties among the
\ngovernments of ASEAN had limited the creativity of producers to
\nmake vehicles which might draw regional and international
\naudiences, Nuqui said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian senior journalist Rosihan Anwar said quality films
\ncould not be produced in this region as long as producers still
\nface the same dilemmas.<\/p>\n
In their bid to survive, some film directors and producers
\nonly want to make films about good government officials and
\npolice, or the relationship among ASEAN countries, Anwar said.
\nBut most of the films center on love and passion, or humor
\naccording to prevailing tastes in the region.<\/p>\n
\"I've never watched any Indonesian film in the past four years
\nbecause they're only about cheap sex and tears, or about the good
\nguys and the rich,\" said Obby, a senior student at the Faculty of
\nEconomy at Gadjah Mada University here.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's actor Roy Marten, now a leading player in sinetron
\ntelevision dramas, sarcastically referred to the Indonesian film
\nindustry as a mummy.<\/p>\n
Participants made an impassioned pledge at the end of the
\nmeeting to join forces in finding effective ways to promote ASEAN
\nfilms in the region and to battle Hollywood dominance.<\/p>\n
Narto Irawan, Indonesia's director of Film and Video Recording
\nDevelopment, said the ASEAN film community plans to set up a
\ncomputerized network system for exchanging product information
\nand seeking possible cooperation and promotion overseas.<\/p>\n
\"We're not dreaming and we intend to realize all of the plans
\nfor the sake of the film industry in this region,\" Narto said.<\/p>",
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