SOC discusses Film Corporation’s plans to deal with popularity of streaming platforms

The development of the film industry in Sri Lanka was recently taken up for discussion at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Media, Youth, Heritage and New Citizen, the Parliamentary Communications Department said.

This was discussed when the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Media, Youth, Heritage and New Citizen Chaired by Lalith Varna Kumara met to look into the issues and proposals pertaining to the film industry. Officials of the National Film Corporation were summoned before the committee to discuss the aforesaid concerns, the department mentioned in a statement.

Accordingly, the officials representing the National Film Corporation explained the concerns surrounding the film industry. In particular, they pointed out that there has been a trend of shrinking in the film industry and about 5 or 6 cinemas are closing down a year.

The share of the money received by the film corporation from a movie ticket and the difficulty in finding film producers was also taken into discussion, it added.

The revision of the Film Corporation Act was also discussed at length. It was also suggested that the registration amount for importing foreign films and the amount charged by the film corporation for one film should be revised. In addition, the committee also focused on the existing plans of the film corporation to deal with the popularity of platforms like Netflix.

Furthermore, the present officials pointed out the need for filmmakers to prepare quality films.

Members of Parliament Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Jayantha Ketagoda and Gamini Waleboda, were also present at the Committee meeting held, according to the Parliamentary Communications Department.