Sandiaga Uno Hopes That The Opening Of Cinemas Can Move The Film Industry Economy

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno hopes that the trial of opening cinemas in a number of areas that have implemented the implementation of community activity restrictions (PPKM) levels 2 and 3 can move the wheels of the economy of film industry players.

"Hopefully the trial of opening this cinema can revive the cinema ecosystem and national films," said Menpararekraf while reviewing Cinema XXI at the Cililitan Wholesale Center (PGC), East Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday, October 4.

According to him, creative economy industry players, especially film, have experienced a significant impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, so far, film has been a promising sub-sector in contributing to state revenues.

In 2019, the film industry's contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP) was Rp15 trillion.

In order to run the economy of the film industry players, the government is currently easing various community activities, including the reopening of cinemas as of September 16, 2021. This trial is also accompanied by evaluation stages which are carried out regularly.

"Like this refreshment, we will also evaluate, if there is approval from the COVID-19 Task Force and friends from the health side, we will consider it for evaluation," he said.

During his visit, Sandiaga tried directly and observed the flow of health protocols (prokes) being implemented. Starting from scanning the QR code through the PeduliLindung application, using the hand sanitizer that has been provided, and checking body temperature at the cinema entrance.

Body temperatures above 37.3 degrees Celsius are not permitted and visitors are required to wear masks.

All prokes are declared to run according to the applicable rules. The staff is also assessed to have received a full dose of vaccination and have used personal protective equipment, such as gloves, masks, and face shields.

Visitors who are allowed to enter the cinema are visitors who have received two doses of the vaccine and are aged 12-60 years. Then, the capacity of the cinema seats is only 50 percent and visitors are not allowed to eat or drink while in the cinema area.

In addition, visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance online to minimize touch.

"We believe that if we apply the health protocols, more and more cinemas will be opened. For now, 1,164 screens have been opened and we will do this trial in stages, stages, and continuously," said the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Through the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) has budgeted around Rp266 billion for the film industry. The PEN Film program is divided into three schemes, namely promotion schemes, license purchase schemes, and production schemes.

The promotion scheme aims to help promote selected Indonesian films that will be screened or ready-to-air films. The promotion scheme this year is for 40 feature films/widescreen films.

Then, the licensing purchase scheme is an effort to give appreciation to Indonesian film owners and increase the availability of quality films. Also, a production scheme for the local short film or documentary community.

Registration for the promotion scheme has been opened from 1-10 October 2021, which can be found out further by accessing penfilm.kemenparekraf.go.id. Meanwhile, the licensing purchase scheme and production scheme are still in the discussion stage.

"The hope is that this can move the film sector, and open up the widest possible employment opportunities," said Sandiaga.