Finas initiates its first Malaysian Film Journal programme to uplift the film industry through writing
The National Film Development Corporation (Finas) has initiated its first Malaysian Film Journal programme that invites article submissions on themes that relate to the local film industry.
Finas Marketing Director Muhammad Ar-Riyyan Roslan said the programme aims to compile a range of fiction and non-fiction articles such as historical events that took place during the film’s industry’s golden age, and even stories that tap into the personal lives of legendary artistes who have plied their trade while they go about their daily lives at the iconic Jalan Ampas Studio.
An interesting example would be tracing back the stories of what icons like P.Ramlee or Mat Sentol (Abd Rashid Yahaya) were like in their heydays.
“Only few people would know about this, but what about other supporting actors and actresses like Ibrahim Pendek and those in the Bujang Lapok film series? We want to know about their lives and stories too.
“There are a few reporters such as Adam Saleh, Akmal Abdullah and Aziz Satar from Utusan Malaysia who have interviewed legendary artistes back then so we would like to hear stories from them - it would be interesting to dive deeper into the lives of these artistes, to know them beyond their status,” he said.
The programme also welcomes writings that suggest how the local film industry can further thrive and evolve in new directions.
“We’re keen to receive responses from the public especially from academicians, experienced writers, reporters and also the industry players itself such as producers, directors and even actors to submit articles.
From the stories that they collect, it will be binded into a journal which will then be presented during the “Hari Seniman Negara” celebration next year.
The event, which was initially set to take place on the death date of P.Ramlee, has been rescheduled to happen on P.Ramlee’s birth date instead (March 22, 1929).
“There aren't enough stories to bind and tell, so we are aiming to garner enough writing about the film industry where it can eventually be made as reference for others.
REQUIREMENTS
To participate in the programme, Ar-Riyyan said participants should be 18-years-old and above.
“There are no limits to how many articles you want to submit, however Finas will only pick the best entries to be published in the journal,” he said.
In terms of selecting the journal, there is a group of academicians from Finas’ committee board members who will be responsible for selecting the best entries.
Since the launch of the programme on June 1, Finas has received a total of 22 submissions so far.
“Most entries were articles on the history of the film industry and stories from the golden age of the industry, and a few that entail ideas for the film industry,” said Ar-Riyyan.
Asked whether the writings submitted could potentially be turned into something more visual, he said that’s unlikely, unless the story proves to be remarkable enough to be turned into a script.
Ar-Riyyan hopes to receive more write-ups from the younger generation as well as not one entry received was written from someone from the younger age group.
“Programmes such as this are crucial to help FInas understand the minds of the society through their sharing of ideas and perspectives about the film industry,” he said.
WRITING TEMPLATE
Not more than 20 pages
Submission via online
Font is Arial or Times New Roman
Font size: 12pt with 1.5 spacing
Align text - Justified
Last date of submission would be Sept 30,2022. For inquiries, please call 0341041300 - ext num 1771/1320/1447.
