STRIKE while the iron is hot! It's an idiom which tells us to act decisively or take an opportunity when it arises.
And I am talking about the vast potential in the film industry proffered by Malaysia's unexpected catapulting into the spotlight of the movie world, of late.
Thanks to the buzz in the aftermath of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win, there's renewed excitement in the local cinema world. And with changes in some socio-political landscapes in our region, it may trigger spillover investment opportunities in film-making from people who are far more successful than us. Throw in film-making's strong association with the gig economy, perhaps a recalibration of focus on the entertainment industry ought to be done by Malaysia.
Gig workers stand to gain a lot from the movie industry's eco-system, which usually needs plenty of talent within short time frames. As the gig economy has been touted to provide Malaysia with sustainable and inclusive economic growth as envisaged in the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025), this under-weight sector should come under greater attention in the 2024 Budget. After all, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has estimated that the gig economy could be worth RM650 million by 2025!
Yeoh's exceptional talent and commanding screen presence have brought her a huge fan base of both Eastern and Western audiences. We should ride on her on-going popularity and nurture more Yeohs! While it's easier said than done and in reality there can be only one Michelle Yeoh, we shouldn't lose hope and should aim to produce more artistes of international calibre.
In hindsight, Yeoh's quote of "If I only get to play Malaysian roles, there wouldn't be very many roles for me to play" is quite telling and food for thought for our policy-makers. This means we have to think "outside the Malaysian box"!
Perhaps we could consider tapping into the possibility of Hong Kong filmmakers wanting a "change of air" after the street protests of 2019 and use this opportunity to enhance our local film-making ecosystem. I was drawn to a recent article in Life & Times entitled "Tapping into HK film expertise" where a 10-year-old Hong Kong film company, One Cool Film Production, founded by the popular actor Louis Koo has set up shop in Malaysia to produce films with locals. He has teamed up with local director Adrian Teh of "Paskal" and "Malbatt: Misi Bakara" fame as well as Singapore's Raihan Halim, who calls himself a part-time scriptwriter and fulltime storyteller, to jointly produce "La Luna".
Koo is certainly hot property for his sci-fi blockbuster "Warriors of Future'' was 2022's highest grossing film in Hong Kong, a place long-known for its movies. And its many mega movie stars like the late Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-Fat, Donnie Yen and Daniel Wu have all made their mark in Hollywood.
This is where Malaysia ought to capitalise on the potential shifting sands of moods and expectations in the aftermath of the unpleasant street violence in Hong Kong. Besides our relatively attractive locations, we need to promote Malaysia's highly competitive prices, multi-cultural heritage and untold stories that can be woven into movies. Even if Hong Kong movie producers were to want an entirely "Chinese feel" movie, it too can be done in Malaysia because we already have the language and cultural infrastructure.
And if Hong Kong film companies were to come to Malaysia in a big way, the spin-offs could be tremendous, including boosting our gig economy with more job opportunities.
The Malaysian government's support for the film industry through various initiatives and grants should be impressed upon among more Hong Kong movie producers to encourage co-production of high-quality films from Malaysia for the global market.
Hong Kong's ability to blend tradition with innovation and cater to a diverse range of tastes for action, martial arts, comedy, drama, romance, and horror has contributed to its movie industry's success. Such successes stem from Hong Kong's wealth of creative talent, including filmmakers, directors, writers, actors, and cinematographers. This is where we should aspire for after all the value-add to Hong Kong's GDP through films, videos, music and songs totalled HK$2.84 billion in 2021. In the final analysis, it's more about the export market.
* The writer is a former Bernama chief executive officer and editor-in-chief.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Business Times.
