Reformulating policy on film imports

Reformulating policy on film imports

JAKARTA (Antara): Importing films is a never-ending problem in
Indonesia. Numerous decrees have been issued by the Ministry of
Information but the problem lingers.

Importers of foreign films freely violate the regulations
because the government lacks consistency in enforcing the law.
Ironically, some government bureaucrats cleverly exploit this
complex problem. Recently, the government revealed that
irregularities in film imports had cost it Rp 43.3 billion.

The problem can probably be traced back to the 18th century
when foreigners, mainly the Dutch, Indians and Chinese,
controlled the cinema business.

Following the screening of the first locally-made film on Dec.
4, 1900, foreign films flooded into the country.

The presence of more locally produced films in the 1930s did
not effect the importers' interest in buying foreign films. Movie
theaters mushroomed, and they were all owned by foreigners and
screened imported films only.

The first edition of Bandung-based newspaper Panorama on Aug.
27, 1927 noted that 85 percent of the movie theaters in the Dutch
East Indies were owned by Chinese businesses.

According to statistics from 1953, there were 513 movie
theaters throughout Indonesia, and the number of imported films
screened in these theaters was over 2,000 annually, much higher
than the number of locally produced films screened (see Table
below).

The ownership pattern of theaters created a division of
classes among movie theaters, depending on facilities, location
and films screened. Unlike imported films, Indonesian films were
generally screened in third-class movie theaters.

Protests against the unfair treatment of locally made films
climaxed in the 1960s with the establishment of the Committee for
the Annihilation of Imperialist American Films (Papfias), which
was associated with the Indonesian Communist Party.

Papfias was founded to follow up on the PKI-linked People's
Culture Institute's (Lekra) demand that the government disband
the American Motion Pictures Producers Association of Indonesia
(AMPPAI).

Lekra saw AMPPAI as monopolizing the importation of films from
the United States and Europe, as well as the distribution of the
films to local movies across Indonesia.

Led by RHA Hidayat and cinema activists like Sitor Situmorang,
one of Indonesia's first scriptwriters, Papfias moved to close
down movie theaters which screened mostly imported films.

Papfias' aggressive move cut the number of cinemas from 890 to
700 in 1964. By the end of the 1960s, after the botched communist
coup attempt, only 350 cinemas remained.

Then information minister BM Diah established the National
Film Production Council in 1968. This was disbanded in 1969 by
his successor, Boedihardjo, who replaced it with the National
Film Council in 1971 through a ministerial decree.

The decree regulated the use of funds collected from film
importers and managed by the National Film Council. The money was
to be used for the production, distribution and screening of
locally produced films. Under the decree, national film producers
were entitled to a maximum of Rp 7.5 million in loans from the
council.

Then in 1975, the minister of information, minister of home
affairs and minister of education and culture issued a joint
decree cutting the quota of imported films from 600 to 400 titles
a year.

The joint decree also required movie theaters to screen
national films twice a month for at least two days. Everyone who
imported 10 films was required to export one local film.

The regulation was good, but it failed in its implementation
and was ignored by theater owners.

The owners argued that not all moviegoers enjoyed watching
local films and not all locally produced films were worth seeing.

The imported film quota was cut again in 1977 from 400 to 300
titles a year and was further reduced in the 1980s. But these
moves were not followed by the tightening of the number of copies
of a film importers were allowed to have. When the quota was set
at 400 titles in 1974, importers were allowed to have only two
copies of a film, but when the quota was further reduced to 170
titles per year, importers were allowed to have up to 18 copies
of a film. This allowed foreign films to continue to dominate
local movie theaters.

The presence of the Motion Picture Export Association of
America (MPEAA) has further hampered the development of the local
film industry. This association is viewed in the same light as
AMPPAI was before the government banned it in the 1960s. Local
film activists have demanded that the government ban MPEAA.

But unlike AMPPAI, MPEAA cannot be banned because the U.S.
government has threatened to impose sanctions on Indonesia
through Super Act 301 if MPEAA is disbanded. This act is a quasi
agreement that facilitates Indonesian imports to the U.S., which
in turn is allowed to distribute films in Indonesia.

The Indonesian government seems powerless to manage the
affairs of its film industry. This condition is aggravated by the
presence of the Cinema 21 chain which controls first-class
cinemas in major town across Indonesia. There is no way a local
film can be screened in this chain unless it is considered
"salable".

To minimize possible financial losses, the Cinema 21 chain
under the Subentra group seeks profit-sharing agreements with
local film producers/owners before screening local films. This is
what it did with Christine Hakim for her film Daun di Atas Bantal
(Leaf on a Pillow). Under the agreement, proceeds from ticket
sales were divided among Subentra, which received 45 percent of
the revenue, the government, which got 5 percent, and the film's
producer/owner, which received 50 percent of the ticket sales.

However, the problem is not only with the quota of foreign
titles and the presence of the Cinema 21 chain, but also with the
collection of funds and management of the local industry.

Ishadi, the then director general for radio, television and
film, revealed in 1998 financial irregularities in the National
Film Development Agency (BP2N) between 1971 and 1998.

He estimated that over this 28-year period, the tax that the
government should have collected from each copy of imported films
amounted to Rp 46.3 billion, but only Rp 3 billion of this money
was accounted for.

The funds were earmarked for the development of the national
film industry, including sending people in the industry abroad to
study and providing funds for film production.

BP2N has funded the production of several films over the
years. For instance, it gave Slamet Rahardjo Rp 250 million for
the production of Telegram and another Rp 250 million to
Christine Hakim for Daun di Atas Bantal.

Johan Tjasmadi, who chaired BP2N from 1995 to 1998, said he
was unaware of the Rp 43 billion allegedly missing from the
organization's coffers. He said the funds were managed by a
special secretariat whose membership consisted of representatives
from the information ministry who were directly appointed by the
minister.

Rosihan Anwar, deputy chief of BP2N, also ducked for cover
when asked about the alleged corruption. He said the agency's
financial affairs were overseen by the information ministry.

Maybe the missing Rp 43 billion could be the result of BP2N
having no authority to manage its funds.

Like a host of other corruption cases in Indonesia, there is
little effort being made to investigate the case.

It is high time for the government in this era of reform to
clean up the mess in the film industry.

Table: Number of national and imported films 1950-1955

C'try of origin 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
--------------------------------------------------------
Indonesia 459 465 592 152 180 176
India 55 70 58 56 150 311
China 113 317 316 204 106 116
United States 2092 2382 2568 2132 1391 1501
Britain 457 290 383 275 306 330
The Netherlands 377 265 195 135 189 106
Soviet Union 15 35 6 9 57 51
Italy 7 11 22 28 34 56
France 54 27 40 35 31 22

Source : Statistical pocketbook of Indonesia.