"In commemoration of National Film Day, let us all build the film industry ecosystem in Indonesia, so it will have added value, which would then promote prosperity of film industry players," the director of creative industry, music, film, and animation at the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry Amin Abdullah stated.
According to Abdullah, the value chain-oriented film industry ecosystem needs to be developed by all stakeholders, including the government and film industry players, so creative products can gain better access through distribution and market share as well as be protected by the law and give economical added value.
"Value chain comprises creation, production, distribution, consumption, and conservation. Often the problem that arises is after production wherein the product cannot be distributed and taken by the market," Abdullah pointed out.
Hence, he deemed it necessary to take a cue from the successes of other films.
According to the ministry, the gross domestic product of the film, animation, and video subsector saw an increase to up to 6.31 percent, or Rp 2.69 trillion (US$178 million), in 2021.
In total, the national creative economy sector has a major contribution to the national gross domestic product, capped at 6.98 percent, up to Rp1,134 trillion (US$75 billion).
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, several film industry players were impacted by the situation, he stated. He highlighted that the government had established two incentive programs for the sector, those being funding from the 2021 National Economic Recovery (PEN) program and Creative Lens 2022, as a means to facilitate recovery of the subsector.
"In 2021, PEN disbursed some Rp114 billion (US$7.6 million) for film industry players, and in 2022, there was a disbursal of Rp11.49 billion (US$763 thousand)," Abdullah remarked.
Currently, Abdullah said his administration is formulating incentive schemes for film productions that could have a positive impact on domestic tourism destinations. The prospective program is expected to encourage local film productions that would garner the interest of foreign producers to shoot films in Indonesia.
"We also need to incentivize local players and local production houses, so if they do shooting in tourism destinations, it would promote (the place)," he remarked.
The ministry also hosts the Monthly Film Festival to promote the potential of local filmmakers.
Films that won at the festival can be showcased in over-the-top platforms. The festival will be followed up with a tour to 10 regions, wherein films from winners of the previous year would be played along with other films.
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Translator: Rizka Khaerunnisa, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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