THE film industry should expand its market and explore the great potential of Southeast Asia.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the region had a population of about 666 million people.
"One of the things I asked to be researched is the number of viewers for a movie.
"Wouldn't it be great if Malaysian films can be screened in Southeast Asia?
"Malaysia has 33 million people and about 10 to 12 million people watch movies.
"Imagine bringing local films to Southeast Asia's population of 660 million. It's a huge market.
"We also want to watch other films from Southeast Asia. This can be called the 'Road to Southeast Asia'," he said at a recent screening of 'Sheriff' in Kuala Lumpur.
With this in mind, Fahmi asked the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) to work with regional counterparts and review the Digital Content Fund (DKD) to achieve the mission.
"What we can do at the ministry is to re-examine the DKD to achieve a broader goal, which is to develop an identity with the aim of bringing our films to Southeast Asia.
"We need to invite the Finas equivalent in other Southeast Asian countries to identify speakers and distributors to hold discussions so that the government's goal of having an Asean cinema can be achieved.
"My hope is that we can meet before the end of the year, before Malaysia serves as Asean chair in 2025.
"I hope next year we can produce something good for Asean."
