Government Drafts Film Law Revision Focused on Preservation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Film Board Chairman Fauzan Zidni stated that his organisation is currently collaborating with the Ministry of Culture on formulating a draft revision of the Film Law. “We are assisting the Minister of Culture in formulating the revision of the Film Law, and film preservation is the main issue we are currently drafting,” Fauzan said during a discussion commemorating the 101st anniversary of Asrul Sani’s birth, monitored online from Jakarta on Tuesday. This step is expected to support access to the works of Indonesian masters—not only Asrul Sani—and he also highlighted the importance of establishing a film preservation institution. Currently, he said, there is a challenge in introducing the works of artists and literary figures to the younger generation in a relevant manner, while there is no access to present the masters’ works through appropriate media. “How do we introduce Asrul Sani and his works to the younger generation, Gen Z aged 15-20, when access to those works does not exist? I think this is a cultural policy issue that we need to fight for,” Fauzan stated. Judi Wahjudin, Secretary of the Directorate General of Development, Utilisation, and Guidance of Culture at the Ministry of Culture, said the discussion forum is part of a public participation-based policy formulation process, more than a decade after the implementation of Law Number 33 of 2009 on Film. He stressed that film is not only viewed as an industry but also as a medium of cultural expression, an instrument of cultural diplomacy, and part of the advancement of national culture. According to him, within the framework of Law Number 5 of 2017 on the Advancement of Culture, film is an object of cultural advancement that plays a strategic role in building national identity.