27/09/2024
1. Sejak penubuhan FINAS awal 1980an, rakan-rakan industri di Semenanjung Malaysia selama lebih 30 tahun sudah menikmati bantuan dan sokongan dana berjumlah ratusan juta.
2. Kita di Sabah cuma bermula 2019. YB Gobing Singh menteri KKMM masa tu (2018) datang berjumpa dengan penggiat industri Sabah). Itu pun 2020-2021 ada gangguan Covid.
3. Kami di Sabah dan Sarawak tidak perlu 30 tahun, hanya perlu 5 tahun saja lagi untuk membangun setaraf dengan rakan-rakan penggiat filem di seluruh Malaysia.
4. Cadangan untuk khidmat Pengerusi dan CEO FINAS dilanjutkan sekurang-kurangnya 4 tahun daripada 2 tahun untuk memastikan pelan perancangan dapat dilaksanakan juga harus disokong.
Fahmi Fadzil
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah filmmakers welcome the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas)'s plan to establish a Borneo Media Excellence Center in Kota Kinabalu.
President of the Kota Kinabalu Film and Video Association (KKFVA), Chester Pang, said they have long awaited such infrastructure to be built in Sabah and hope that the plan will become a reality.
"Currently, Finas is in the process of collecting the necessary data for a feasibility study so that a proposal for the establishment of this center can be submitted for inclusion in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).
"As a filmmaker myself, I hope more initiatives and facilities will be provided under the 13MP to boost the film industry in Sabah and Sarawak.
"The film industry in both states is still in its developmental stage. Therefore, a center like this is crucial for filmmakers in these regions to improve their productions.
"If it becomes a reality, I am sure it will also facilitate Finas' initiatives to enhance cooperation between Sabah and Sarawak film productions and those within the East ASEAN Growth Area - Brunei Darussalam-Malaysia-Philippines (BIMP-EAGA)," he said on Thursday.
Earlier, the media reported that Finas plans to establish a Borneo Media Excellence Center here, which will provide post-production facilities to help Sabah filmmakers develop their works.
Meanwhile, Chester hopes the Ministry of Communications will continue the Borneo Pitch Fund for filmmakers in Sabah and Sarawak.
He added that the RM11 million allocation under the Creative Content Fund (DKK) for the Film Sector, recently announced by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, is insufficient for the whole country.
"We are grateful for the Ministry's concern in introducing the DKK. However, what filmmakers in Sabah and Sarawak are most looking forward to is an increase in the Borneo Pitch Fund.
"But we were disappointed when the minister did not announce it during the recent meeting with filmmakers in Kota Kinabalu, only stating that quotas for Sabah and Sarawak would be introduced."
According to him, the Borneo Pitch Fund has significantly helped filmmakers in Sabah and Sarawak, not only in producing higher-quality productions but also in terms of networking.
"We welcome Finas' initiative to focus on stories and collaborations with countries under BIMP-EAGA.
"However, without the Borneo Pitch Fund, how can we develop our works to support this initiative?
"For now, KKFVA has taken its own initiative to participate in the TiFFCOM Film Market in Tokyo, Japan, from October 30 to November 1, as part of our efforts to promote and introduce Sabah films to the international stage. The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) also just started a similar initiative," he added.
He said that without the special fund, filmmakers in both regions now have to compete with their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia to secure the DKK.
Therefore, he hopes the criteria and conditions for applying for the DKK will be relaxed for industry players in the two Borneo states.
"The criteria and conditions set are too difficult to meet for film productions in Sabah and Sarawak, especially compared to productions from the peninsula, which have benefited from Finas for the past 30 years.
"In contrast, the film industry in Sabah and Sarawak only began receiving attention in 2018, and the two-year Covid-19 pandemic has hampered the development of the industry in both states," he said.
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