Finas To Propose Regional Film Production Collaboration At ASEAN Summit 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) plans to propose a regional film production collaboration, involving creative industries, with Southeast Asian nations.

Its chairman, Datuk Kamil Othman, said that this initiative will be proposed at the upcoming ASEAN Summit 2025, which Malaysia will host, as part of efforts to advance Malaysian films on the international stage.

“Next year, when Malaysia chairs the ASEAN summit, we’d like to introduce an agenda for creative industries within the summit. This would involve organising a meeting for film commissions, including Finas and its counterparts from Southeast Asian countries, during the summit.”

“The idea is to create something similar to the European Union (EU) concept. For instance, looking at a typical European film today, rarely one is made singularly by one country… it’s always a co-production between EU countries such as Germany, France and Italy,” he said.

He said this when appearing as a guest on Bernama TV’s ‘The Nation’ programme, titled ‘Bringing Malaysia's Film Industry to the Global Stage’, today.

Kamil said that the proposed collaboration could harness the expertise of filmmakers from various countries, and boost the marketing aspect.

By fostering regional collaboration in production, funding and marketing aspects, the aspiration of showcasing locally produced films beyond Malaysia could become a reality, he added.

He also advised local filmmakers to learn from international award-winning films, and juxtapose the storyline with their own film direction.

Kamil also recommended utilising modern technology to make films more relatable and address language barriers, while developing inclusive storylines which resonate with a global audience.

-- BERNAMA