Film producers thank government for funds

LAHORE: The Pakistan Film Producers Association (PFPA) on Friday thanked Prime Minister Mir Zafrullah Khan Jamali and Minister Rais Munir for promising funds for a proposed Film City institute.

The PFPA asked Mr Jamali for his time to submit their submissions regarding Film City, a proposed institute where acting, film laboratory work, direction and film production would be taught.

PFPA President Amjad Farzand told journalists Film City would include slots for producers, directors and distributors. He said the federal government had promised Rs 50 million for the project. The PFPA plans to build the institute in Lahore and meet the Punjab chief secretary on August 18. Mr Farzand said the PFPA appreciated the chief secretary’s initiative in saving Alfalah Cinema from becoming a theatre.

Mr Farzand also praised the district coordination officer (DCO) for campaigning against obscenity and the city government’s raid at a cinema to arrest its officials for showing a pornographic film. He said he had asked the government to raid other pornography promoting cinemas.

The PFPA thanked the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for banning Indian channels and obscene dances in theatres. Mr Farzand said the ban had helped business as families were coming back to cinemas. The PFPA also thanked the PEMRA for allowing the association to be a member of the PEMRA Complaint Cell.

Mr Farzand said the PFPA’s executive committee and film producers did not want to make joint projects with India. “We don’t have a big audience for our films. Indians can invest lot more money because they have a larger audience.”

He said, “The Copyright Act is not implemented in Pakistan. We release a film and the very next day, cable operators run that film on cable. That is why people don’t come to watch our films.”

He said another reason for not investing more money in films was that all films were censored according to the 1981 Martial Law Ordinance, which had now become outdated. He appealed to the government to remove the ordinance.

Mr Farzand said, “We will soon be initiating a action against Hall Road vendors of Indian movies.”

He said the film industry had given billions to the government in taxes so the government should do something for the industry in return, adding the PFPA demanded a tax-free industry for five years.