Groove

#Showbiz: Film village proposal to drive arts ecosystem

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Television Producers Association (PTVM) hopes that the government can allocate RM350 million to the creative industry during the presentation of the 2022 Budget to build a film village.

PTVM president Datuk Jurey Latiff Rosli said that the amount would cover the construction of a film studio with set designs, technical equipment, a post production facility, an academy and a residential area for artistes to realise a new ecosystem.

"The proposal has already been sent to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and it relates to a long-term plan and direction for the local TV production industry after taking into account the economic impact to the industry caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The aim of establishing a film village is to follow the lead set by South Korea and China in order to invigorate the creative industry in Malaysia.

"This is because the studio system would help to solve the problem of uncontrolled filming activities when utilising public premises and residences as locations for dramas.

"A controlled studio environment would ensure that the strict SOP for drama filming activities are adhered to in a systematic manner post Covid-19," he said in a news report yesterday.

Jurey added that the studio system would also be able to improve the drama production industry ecosystem in order to provide smoother operations and the ability to create high quality products for the international market.

"This will also enable the government to solve the problem of industry workers not contributing to the Social Security Organisation (Socso), Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and having insurance coverage as they would be working for a major studio that provides a fixed monthly salary.

"The system would ensure that graduates from local and private higher education institutions have job opportunities, while older industry workers will get to retire with savings.

"What's more is that the government will be able to access industry data in order to plan for any improvements to the industry in the future.

"PTVM is confident that with this change, the creative industry will be on the right track to move forward and compete on a global stage," he said.

Most Popular
Related Article
Says Stories