Menbud Fadli Zon: Lack Of Screens Blocking Cultural Advancement Through Films

DENPASAR Minister of Culture (Menbud) Fadli Zon highlighted the lack of cinema screens in Indonesia which was considered to be hampering cultural progress through film media. When closing the Balinale Film Festival in Denpasar, Bali, Saturday (7/6/2025), he said the current number of cinema screens was only around 2,500, far from the ideal need for 10,000 screens.

"I see the opportunity for Indonesian cinema is very large. But the shortfall is that the number of our cinema screens is still far from sufficient," said Fadli.

He encouraged investors and independent filmmakers to be more active in contributing to increasing the number of screens. He also invited local governments to be involved in presenting film screening rooms, as a form of support for the progress of local culture.

According to Fadli, films are one of the most strategic mediums to convey and introduce various cultural expressions. In it there are elements of literature, dance, music, to culinary that can become the nation's soft power.

"Films are not just acting. In it there are many cultural expressions that are important for us to push together for the advancement of national culture," he explained.

The former deputy chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives also gave an example of how countries such as South Korea, the United States, and India use films as an effective means of cultural diplomacy. Indonesia, according to him, has great potential to do the same because of the wealth of film stories and talents that are abundant.

Fadli noted that interest in domestic films has begun to grow. Throughout 2024, Indonesian films recorded 81 million viewers or the equivalent of 67 percent of the total shows in theaters.

However, Fadli admits that there are other challenges that need to be overcome, one of which is the quality of writing scenarios. He considered that many interesting Indonesian film story ideas, but failed to be executed due to weaknesses in the script.

"If the story is good but the scenario is weak, the final result remains not optimal. Therefore, the training for writing scenarios must be strengthened. We need a lot of workshops to increase the capacity of screenwriters," he said.

Fadli hopes that the national film ecosystem will continue to develop, both in terms of distribution, production quality, and creation of works that are able to introduce Indonesian culture to the world.