UNS — The actors, actresses, and movie production practitioners, sent out an open letter to the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Friday (5/3/2021). The open letter that was posted in Joe Taslim, Tara Basro, and Clairine Christable, in their personal Instagram Account, reveals several requests and expressions on how sluggish the movie industry was during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the requests is asking for assistance for the movie industry in the form of stimulus, subsidy, as well as legal and health protection.
Responding to this, a tourism expert from the Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Dr. Deria Adi Wijaya, states that it is appropriate for them to request government attention. “It is an appropriate request from the actors, actresses, and artists to gain government attention,” Dr. Deria states when contacted by uns.ac.id on Friday (12/3/2021).
Dr. Deria who currently serves and the Head of Diploma Program in Tourism Business (UPW) UNS Vocational School (SV), states that the government should encourage the public to enjoy a movie, either through cinema or streaming service. He added that due to the closure of the cinema for months as a result of PSBB and PPKM (t/n: movement control order policy in Indonesia), the public’s interest in movies decreased. Therefore, those who miss watching a movie can only watch any movie through an online movie streaming platform.
Establishment of Movie Streaming Platform
Dr. Deria also expresses his request that the government through a related ministry can establish a national movie streaming platform to compete with the international streaming platform. “One of the measures is to establish a movie streaming platform. The Kemenparekraf (t/n: Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy) and the Kominfo (t/n: Ministry of Communication and Informatics) can collaborate to establish a national streaming platform supported by SOEs,” Dr. Deria states.
Dr. Deria considers this step as a significant action because, for a long time, cinema establishment in some regions remains a mere discourse. Meanwhile, movie production is one of the biggest sources of income for Indonesian actresses and actors. If the government succeeded to develop this platform, this can be a distinct advantage for the government and the Indonesian film industry. It is because there will be more representation of the local culture as the national character in the movies.
“Of course with representative, competitive, and affordable packages for the public. This will increase their access to entertainment using a smartphone. Currently, there is a need to strengthen the movie production that depicting local wisdom and implementing it during the production. This to strengthen Indonesia’s movies identity to compete with the international movies,” he reveals.
Appreciation on Government’s Effort in Banning Illegal Streaming Site
In the open letter addressed to the President by the Indonesian artists regarding piracy practices, Dr. Deria appreciates the government’s effort in taking firm action against illegal movie streaming sites. However, this is not enough as the public needs to get educated to use legal/paid movie streaming platforms.
“This will help the legal platforms to survive and funding their business. To do this, massive socialization and approach to the public are needed,” he opined.
Public awareness to use the legal/paid streaming platforms can help the movie productions industry to deliver qualified movies. Additionally, Dr. Deria also asked about the motivation to develop the country’s film industry in order to imitate the success of the South Korean film industry. Regarding this, Dr. Deria finds that Indonesia’s public interest in serial drama remains high. Therefore, other than producing a movie, the government should provide assistance to support serial drama production, thus they can create interesting drama. Humas UNS
Reporter: Yefta Christopherus AS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
