KUCHING, July 10: National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) will assist local film industry players who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finas chairman Zakaria Abdul Hamid said an ad-hoc committee was recently set up for this purpose.
Speaking at his working visit to Finas in Kuching today, Zakaria said one of its initiatives to assist the local film industry within the next critical six months included channeling funds to producers in making drama, film or documentaries.
“Applications are now open and for this, we will accelerate the approval process for the funding.
“Next week, we will also issue offer letters to production companies to begin their drama, film or documentaries,” he said in his speech.
Zakaria urged Sarawakian industry players to take this opportunity and apply for the fund as soon as possible.
“I do not want Sarawak industry players to miss out. We want them to participate in this program and use the fund to start their movies,” he added.
Zakaria also revealed another special programme, which Finas had discussed with the minister in charge, to come up with a special stimulus package for this industry where they will work together with TV stations to produce films.
He pointed out that due to Covid-19 pandemic and movement control order (MCO) plus the subsequent economic downturn, many industry players did not have enough funding.
Finas deputy chairman Datuk Norman Abdul Halim and chief executive officer Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri also attended their work visit which was intended to hold bilateral sessions to strengthen Finas’ engagement with industry players as well as gain direct input from the film industry on post-Covid-19 recovery efforts.—DayakDaily
