Challenges in strengthening the national film ecosystem must be faced together

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Culture has revealed that in strengthening the national film ecosystem, there are several challenges that must be addressed collectively, one of which is the independence of festival organisers.

“We from the centre cannot continuously provide funding (disburse budgets) every year, giving this amount and that amount,” said the Director General of Development, Utilisation, and Coaching of Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Ahmad Mahendra, during an online discussion titled “Film Bill: Literacy and Appreciation Via Berani,” monitored from Jakarta on Friday.

He added that Indonesian films are currently growing positively, but on the other hand, the independence of film festival organisers must be realised.

“We must have our own efforts; it’s already challenging to support film matters,” he said.

He also hopes for tangible involvement from local governments in supporting the development of the national film ecosystem in various regions to prevent imbalances between one area and another.

Although film production has now grown, according to him, in terms of the ecosystem, support is needed from various sides, for example, investment, infrastructure, and human resource literacy, which form a chain in developing the industry.

On the same occasion, actor Reza Rahadian proposed that the revision of the Film Law could provide clarity for workers in the film industry.

“I also feel that the space for employment, film practitioners, crew, film workers, film employees, and so on, I think it hasn’t specifically regulated this yet,” he said.

Secondly, he proposed a more detailed discussion on the Film Bill, namely regarding the meaning of activities and enterprises.

“In my opinion, we need to discuss the activities and enterprises in Article 1 of the Film Law, points 4 and 5, which need to be discussed further,” he concluded.