TCCF: Malaysia Set To Join Turkey, Indonesia, Philippines In Launching Co-production Funding Scheme

Content agencies from Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines presented their incentives and co-production initiatives at Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) on Thursday. 

Malaysia’s National Film Development Corp (FINAS) revealed that it plans to join the regional trend to launch a scheme designed to stimulate co-production with its domestic filmmakers. 

“We’re moving towards gap financing and matching funds, which we’ll be announcing officially next year,” said FINAS CEO Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib.

“We’re exploring how to get into gap financing and best match with our rebate systems. Moving forward, we want to encourage more private investors to enter the picture.” 

Malaysia already has a location incentive for both local and international productions, Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI), which offers a 30% cash rebate on all qualifying Malaysian production expenditure, with an additional 5% rebate subject to a cultural test. 

FIMI has so far supported 61 foreign titles, with combined cash payouts of $90M, and 54 domestic productions, with cash payouts of $14.5M. Foreign titles supported include Crazy Rich Asians, The Mandalorian, 6 Underground and Blackhat. 

Alex Sihar of Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology explained how Indonesia has boosted its local film industry through a range of initiatives, including the Indonesia Film Matchfund.

The $10M initiative matches funds secured by Indonesian co-production projects from funding bodies overseas. More than 15 oaverseas funds are recognized by the scheme including Hubert Bals Fund, CNC’s Cinemas du Monde, Berlin’s World Cinema Fund, Norway’s Sorfond, Doha Film Institute, Purin Pictures and co-production schemes launched in Singapore and Taiwan.

Films supported by Indonesia Film Matchfund include Crocodiles Tears, which recently premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, and Tale Of The Land, which won the FIPRESCI Prize at Busan International Film Festival. 

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology has also been funding labs, workshops, film festivals and other initiatives to support the local film industry. In recent years, a slew of Indonesian films has been winning awards on the festival circuit including Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography, Kamila Andini’s The Seen And Unseen and Edwin’s Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash. 

However, the Ministry has been broken up as part of a major reorganization of the Indonesian government as new president Prabowo Subianto takes office. The film industry will be mostly under the purview of the new Ministry of Culture, although other ministries are expected to be involved. 

Turkey’s Faruk Guven and Esra Demirkiran of TRT Sinema, the film arm of Turkish Radio Television Corporation (TRT), also outlined the co-production funding offered through its 12 Punto initiative. 

Described as Turkey’s largest script development and co-production platform, 12 Punto supports Turkish projects and international co-productions with Turkey at script development stage. 

“We support Turkish features, shorts and international feature films with a minority Turkish co-producer,” said Demirkiran. “We assist and work with the filmmakers all the way from script stage to festivals and distribution.” 

TRT Sinema has been involved in projects including Cannes Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness, Green Border and About Dry Grasses. The broadcaster has also launched a streaming platform, Tabii, which will be available internationally next month.

Marylo Chrstine Celis of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) talked about the organization’s International Co-production Fund (ICOF), a selective fund for co-productions with the Philippines capped at $180,000 for features/series, with an additional $35,000 cultural bonus. 

Recent projects to be supported under ICOF include James J. Robinson’s First Light, starring Ruby Ruiz (Expats), a co-production between Philippines and Australia, and Marianne Metivier’s Splendor Of Life, co-produced with France and Canada.

Separately, the Philippines also has a locations incentive, Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP), which offers a 20% cash rebate with a $450,000 cap. FLIP can also be topped up with a 5% cultural bonus. 

FDCP, FINAS, the Indonesian Film Board and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), which is organizing TCCF, are all members of the recently established Asian Film Alliance Network (AFAN), which also includes the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Singapore’s IMDA and the Mongolian Film Council. Thailand’s new content agency Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA) has observer status.