Finding Global Cinemas, Bali Film Forum Optimistic That Bali's Potential As A Center For The Film Industry Continues To Spread

JAKARTA - The 2024 Bali International Film Festival (Balinale) feels special with the presence of film industry players. The 2024 Balinale is not only a meeting point for the east meet west, but also the east meeteast. In one of its programs Bali Film Forum (BFF), Balinale has become a forum for industry players to work together, collaborate and share in photographing and guarantee the sustainability of the growth of the film industry.

The Bali Film Forum (BFF) took place on Sunday, June 2, 2024, at the Intercontinental Sanur Hotel, moderated by Tantowi Yahya, taking place in three sessions. No less than 70 participants attended, were players in the film industry from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, America, England, India, and Indonesia.

From the three discussion sessions regarding the film industry, it is clearly illustrated by the wishes of industry players so that Indonesia does not miss the opportunity to become the goal of producing world-class films and making Indonesia capable of driving the creative economy in the Asian region.

Tantowi Yahya started the story of how New Zealand built a digital visual studio for the effects of WETA Digital. Studios domiciled in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, are currently trusted by major studios for digital visual work on the effects of Hollywood films. Weta Digital is an example of how to unite individual creative abilities into industrial giants with world-class creative power.

The market potential continues to grow, the maker films and creative workers whose crafts are increasingly being honed are mentioned by M Amin Abdullah, Director of Music, Film and Animation, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, further increasing the impact of multi-multiply effect. Agus Maha Usadha, a creative economy business actor who is a member of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) Bali, felt the big impact of the production of the film Eat, Pray, Love (2010).

"Four eleven years have passed, but Eat, Pray, Love still has a positive influence on tourist destinations in Bali. It is unfortunate that the film Ticket to Paradise (2022) tells the story of Bali but takes production locations outside Bali," Agus explained in a media statement received by VOI, Tuesday, June 4. The creative industry of Indonesia must be able to scale up the film industry by seizing local and global market potentials. The income of the film industry does not stop at Rp 90 trillion in 2022 (Price Water House and LPEM Faculty of Economics & Business UI). This figure is a multiplier that includes the film sector, music, animation, photography. Reza Servia, Producer of the Starvision production house, explained that as a film business actor, has read the opportunity to expand the film production market.

Social connection and cross culture in one production that makes film production acceptable to a wider market, he explained.

OTT (Over the Top) is actually a form of exam for accepting film products in the global market. Through the film The Architecture of Love (2024) and Critical Eleven (2017), Starvision is making an effort to expand its film market.

Factors about expanding the market, maximizing resource capabilities, looking for forms of production cooperation, social relationships in the story, as a whole, are an effort to expand the market and business of the film industry. Stanley Kwan, Hong Kong's veteran director and producer, has the same view. That's why, through his latest film Fly Me to The Moon, which is the opening film for the Balinale festival, he collaborated with young female director Sasha Chuk.

Competing experienced producers with young directors who have exploratory thoughts is the Hong Kong SAR government's effort to maintain the advancement of the film industry. They even disbursed large funds to produce collaboration films with cutting-edge themes, humanist dramas, strong social issues, and recruited talented young players.

Through the Asian Film Academy Awards (AFAA), Hong Kong tours the world in collaboration with many world festivals inserting slots for Hong Kong film programs. No exception, AFAA comes with six films in Balinale 2024 with the title film Hong Kong Gala Presentation.

Apart from M Amin Abdullah, Reza Servia, Stanley Kwan, Sasha Chuk, Agus Maha Usadha, there are still other speakers such as Robert Ronny (Paragon Pictures Indonesia), Sakti Partantean (Fremantle Indonesia), Felix Tsang (Hong Kong), Samuel Hordem (Produser, Distributor, Philanthropist Australia). They agreed to enlarge and expand the film industry market into one of the strategies to make films have added value and extraordinary multiplier impact.