Creative industry should tap into country’s literary heritage to penetrate global market

By Norhidayyu Zainal

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- Creative industry players are urged to tap into the country’s literary heritage to come up with more interesting works in order to penetrate the global market.

Head of the Creative Arts Postgraduate Programme at the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (Aswara) Mohd Kamarulzaman Taib said the publication of more than 1,001 creative content at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), for example, could be translated and adapted into interesting work.

“Our country is rich in literary works. Let’s try to dig into traditional stories such as hikayat, folk literature, history and traditional poetry that can be adapted or reconstructed as a new narrative.

“We also have 12 national laureates who have shared their high level of thinking through various materials such as novels, short stories and drama scripts that we can refer to and adapt as creative content. I am confident that DBP very much welcomes this effort,” he told Bernama.

He said as art activists, creative industry players should be smart in enriching the cultural treasures of the Malaysian nation without having to peddle other people’s cultures.

To provide a paradigm shift to the creative industry, Mohd Kamarulzaman opined that the Malaysian film industry should celebrate and provide opportunities for young artists to shape the industry so that it continues to make progress and grow.

He was responding to a call made by Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa that creative industry players should be brave to move out from being ordinary to enable the country’s creative content to penetrate the global market.

Sharing the same sentiment was Institute of Arts and Media Studies Malaysia (SEMESTA) president Prof Dr Mahadi J Murat who said that local films should reflect Malaysia’s identity in order to have a high market value.

The strength of creative work should be in the originality of its content so that it has Malaysia’s trait, thus contributing to the enrichment of world film treasures, similar to those implemented in Korea, China, Iran, France and others, he said.

He pointed out that the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) together with the Federation of Film Professionals Association of Malaysia  (Gafim) had introduced the theme and slogan 'Filem Kita Wajah Kita', as a guide to building the direction of the industry since the early 1990s.

However, he said the idea seemed to be fading, and only now have industry players begun to have more awareness about it after seeing countries like Korea manage to create a high impact at international commercial film and television festivals.

In this regard, Mahadi, who is also a Professor of Film and Communication Studies at the International University of Malaya-Wales (IUMW), suggested that Malaysia take immediate steps by building cooperation with countries in the region, in an effort to find a way to penetrate the global market.

“If we collaborate with Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos and Cambodia, we will get an audience with almost similar sentiments and cultures,” he said, adding that Malaysia should create a new policy for local films and creative content as a reference for all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Fullmoon Pictures co-founder and managing director Izzat Hazim is of the view that industry players who manage to penetrate the global market would have the opportunity to learn various skills, including producing products of international standards, marketing and distribution.

“The experience gained can be utilised to upgrade the industry in our own country. Moreover, the domestic market is not large compared to the global market,” he said.

Hornbill Films Sdn Bhd producer Ray Lee said the effort to develop the country’s film industry did not lie solely on Finas but also involved various quarters including the public, as it has great potential to contribute to the country's economy.

-- BERNAMA