Films can have positive impact on nation: Soeharto

Films can have positive impact on nation: Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): Films can have a positive impact on the life of
a nation if they're done correctly, President Soeharto said
yesterday.

In a speech before the delegates of the 40th Asia-Pacific Film
Festival, Soeharto said that because of their closeness to the
people, films can play a responsible role in directing the
development of a nation.

He acknowledged that the rapid globalization process, which is
affecting film also, is bound to lead to changes in culture and
values.

"They (the changes) are not intrinsically good or bad for the
life of a nation. What is important is that we can direct the
changes in such a manner that, as a nation, we do not lose our
identity and character," Soeharto said. "In this regard, films
have much potential."

The 40th Asia-Pacific Film Festival, with 14 countries
participating, will be closed tomorrow night with awards for
best film and other categories.

Soeharto commended the festival organizers for their courage
to stage the event at a time when the film industry in the region
is experiencing a tough time in the face of fierce competition,
either from countries outside the region or from television and
video.

In some Asia-Pacific countries, he noted, the film industry is
even on the verge of collapsing.

Suggestion

Soeharto suggested that common steps be taken and programs
developed during the festival to resuscitate the sagging local
film industry.

The sorry state of the film industry in the Asia-Pacific
region is one of the subjects being discussed at the festival.

Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho attributed the decline of
the film industry in Indonesia to the absence of media exchanges.

"The film industry cannot stand by itself, it should be
supported by other media such as books, publications and music,"
Garin said on Sunday after his film Bulan tertusuk Ilalang was
announced as one of the five nominees for Best Film.

He said in the United States almost 95 percent of movie and
television films are based on novels or other literary genres.

"In Indonesia, the literary world is stagnant or even dead, so
the film industry has lost one of its potential sources. If one
component dies, the others will go down with it," said the film
director who was voted Best Young Director at the 1992 festival
in Seoul and Best Director at the Non-Aligned Movement's film
festival in Pyongyang, last year.

Garin argued strongly for government subsidies to help the
ailing film industry.

Australia has subsidized its film industry for almost 15
years, and now it churns out films of international quality, he
said.

The New Zealand film industry, which helped subsidize Jane
Campion's internationally-acclaimed film The Piano, receives much
of its funding from the country's Film Commission, said Kemala
Ahwil, the New Zealand embassy's information officer.

The Film Commission of New Zealand receives 70 percent of its
annual funding from state lottery profits, 10 percent from
taxation and 20 percent from its own earnings.

Taiwan, which sets aside special funding for the film
industry, is also gaining international notoriety for such films
as Vive l'amour, winner of the Golden Lion award for best film at
the Venice Film Festival, and Eat Drink Man Woman, the Best
Picture winner at the 39th Asia-Pacific Film festival in Sydney
last year.

Started in 1976, Taiwan's Information Office set up a fund of
US$12,000 per year for the winners of ten selected movie scripts,
said Lu Pao-Sun, the head representative of Taipei's Economic and
Trade Office in Jakarta.

"In 1990, another set of grants worth US$1.2 million was put
aside for filmmakers. That amount of money increased to US$2
million last year and is expected to swell to US$4 million this
year," Lu said at a ceremony to welcome Taiwan's delegates.

"In Indonesia, there is a subsidy from the National Film
Council, but mostly for short term. We need a long term one to
build a strong film industry," said Garin, adding that his Bulan
Tertusuk Ilalang was also the product of a subsidy. (als)