Wibisono attended the forum at the invitation of Hur Namshik, the Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, who is also the Chair of Busan Film Commission, the ASEAN Foundation said on its official website here Friday.
According to Hur Namshik, BIFCOM was the first of its kind in Asia, while the Asian Film Policy Forum was the only place in Asia to straddle film policy and industry. They stimulated discussions on improving Asia`s filming environment and reinvigorated film production in Asia.
This year`s BIFCOM was held together with the Asian Film Market of Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) for the second time, along with the Asian Film Policy Forum.
It was designed to offer more intensive and varied program in larger scale through unified operation process. Under the theme of "Spotlight on Tomorrow: Innovate Film Education & Technology in Asia", several measures to activate film education in Southeast Asia with the participation of ASEAN were discussed comprehensively.
Dr. Makarim Wibisono, in his remarks at the opening ceremony, stated that film was a unique means of communication; its visual bias gave it a universal appeal and impact.
It was a veritable tool of national development and it was also a purveyor of culture. Film helped to preserve the culture of people from eroding away, he stated.
He further pointed out that he was not aware of any nation that had been able to achieve development without proactive promotion of its essential cultural components. And this was true because culture was an integral aspect of the life of people.
(Tz.T001/H-YH/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
