KUALA LUMPUR: The Coalition of Malaysian Filmmakers’ Associations (Gafim) president Datuk Jurey Latiff Rosli’s “rift” with Malaysian Film Development Corporation (Finas) director-general Datuk Kamil Othman is over.
Jurey has called off his week-long “confrontation” with Kamil, that involved his writing a letter to Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, that was partly leaked onto the Internet.
The March 8 letter called for Salleh to monitor Finas so that the development of Malaysia’s film industry “aligns with the rakyat’s needs”, and criticised Kamil for “running Finas like a company”.
Kamil said both Finas and Gafim have decided to iron out their differences in an amicable manner.
“Both of us have ideas to improve the industry, and there are bound to be differences. But I’m glad Gafim and Jurey have chosen to meet us to iron out these issues, so that the industry continues to grow,” he said at a press conference in Finas’ Merdeka Film Studio Complex here, today.
“On Finas’ part, we plan to continue encouraging foreign filmmakers who come here to take in skilled local film crew members, so as to give the much needed boost to the local film scene. It is also a good experience for the local crew as they would learn how foreign production companies work,” he added.
Apart from that, Kamil will be focusing on the local animated film industry which is gaining a lot of popularity from international buyers.
Jurey who was also at the event said: “Gafim and I may have issues to bring up with Finas, but we’ve decided to resolve them for the good of the entertainment industry.”
Malaysian Film Producers’ Association (PFM) president and Finas deputy chairman Datuk Yusof Haslam acted as the mediator between Jurey and Kamil.
He said as a filmmaker as well as Finas board member, he understood the demands of filmmakers as well as the limitations faced by Finas in meeting them.
“It is always best to resolve problems in a non-confrontational manner. We are a small industry and we cannot afford to be divided, because a divided industry will never achieve its goal of going global.”
Following the revelation of Jurey’s letter, five industry associations left Gafim – the Professional Film Workers’ Association of Malaysia (Profima), Film Directors’ Association of Malaysia (FDAM), Post-Production, Animation and Creative Content Association of Malaysia (Postam), Malaysian Association of Advertisement Film Producers (PPFIM) and Malaysian Cinematographer Community Association (MySC).
Last Sunday, several artistes took to the social media to express their support for Kamil and opposed Jurey’s move against him. They included Afdlin Shauki, Lisa Surihani, Bront Palarae and Sharifah Amani.
Jurey, who has helmed Gafim for five years, said he will be ending his term as president next year, and expressed confidence that the relationship between Gafim and Finas will continue to be cordial.
-New Straits Times
