Government Funding Drives Local Creative Industry Growth - FINAS

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Government funding and continued support have driven improvements in the quality and box-office performance of local feature films, said National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) chairman Datuk Dr Hans Isaac.

He said the positive development was evident in that of the 80 films produced, 40 per cent had shown highly encouraging quality, a marked improvement from the constraints faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It can be said that up to seven films in recent months have each recorded box-office takings of more than RM10 million.

“In the past, reaching RM1 million or RM2 million was difficult, and perhaps only two films managed to make RM3 million or RM5 million. But with FINAS and the Government, we are seeing developments in the film industry now,” he said.

Speaking as a guest on Bernama TV's Ruang Bicara programme at Wisma Bernama today, he said the improvement in the quality of local films had also attracted interest from industry players from abroad, including China and Indonesia, opening up opportunities for local productions to reach wider markets.

Hans said initiatives such as the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), which offers a 30 per cent cash rebate, were important to strengthen local production capabilities and attract foreign investment.

The RM300 million allocation for FIMI under the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) could generate economic spillovers of up to RM700 million for the country through filming activities and related ecosystem supply chains, he said.

“When we bring international productions in, they will use local workers. Our workers get to learn their technology and the way they work, from Hollywood, Europe, Netflix and so on.

“We want Malaysia to also be able to produce films that can penetrate overseas markets, and local industry players need to understand how films are produced at the international level,” he said.

He said the returns should be assessed not only in financial terms, but also in terms of ecosystem development through the information, technology and knowledge gained by local industry players.

Meanwhile, FINAS chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib said the agency's role went beyond being a grant financing entity, as it also acted as a catalyst for the overall development of the industry and generation of revenue from intellectual property (IP).

He said FINAS funding was not “one-size-fits-all”, as it was divided according to segments, including individuals, young people without companies, new companies, active companies and more established companies through FIMI.

On welfare, Azmir said FINAS placed strong emphasis on social protection for about 90 to 95 per cent of arts practitioners who work as freelancers in the gig economy through strategic collaborations with the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

“Our collaboration with PERKESO over the past two years has helped ensure that industry players have minimum insurance protection, while our collaboration with EPF gives them the opportunity to make contributions,” he said.

In addition, FINAS is strengthening its lifelong learning agenda through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) platforms.

-- BERNAMA