Finas to investigate allegations of cartel in local film industry

PETALING JAYA - The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) will summon exhibitors, distributors, and film producers to investigate allegations regarding the existence of a cartel and market dominance issues in the local film industry.

Its chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib said although no official complaints have been received so far, Finas is taking proactive steps to gather information to understand the actual situation occurring in the industry.

"Officially, Finas has not received any complaints, but that does not mean we are not paying attention and we are currently gathering information.

"We will call all parties including cinemas (exhibitors), distributors, and producers to discuss and understand the current landscape," he said to reporters after the Engagement Session with the Finas chief executive officer: National Film Policy 2026-2035 at the Finas Tower in Damansara here today.

Azmir said the main concern raised is not merely about a single distributor dominating the entire market, but rather the possibility of an entity being involved at several levels of the industry chain as a distributor, publisher and cinema owner.

Commenting further, he said that so far, the review found that no company possesses all three licences simultaneously, in accordance with the Finas Act, which limits a company to holding a maximum of two categories of licences.

However, Azmir said the investigation will also cover the possibility that the cross-chain operations were carried out through subsidiaries or different business entities.

Meanwhile, he revealed that Finas received a notification from a local Tamil film producer regarding the last-minute entry of a film from India, which allegedly disrupted his film's screening schedule.

To address the issue, Azmir said Finas is examining mechanisms to require advance notification for the entry of international films, similar to the approach in Singapore which mandates notification at least a month before screening.

Azmir said that schedule coordination is important to protect local films in all languages, including Malay, Tamil and Chinese, from facing sudden competition with foreign films targeting the same audience. - BERNAMA