ISLAMABAD: The ministry of culture has got recommendations from high level government officials to utilise the funds of Kerry-Lugar bill which is specifically allocated for cultural support in Pakistan to revive the dying film industry of the country.
The recommendations were made after the recently held Senate Standing Committee on Culture that focussed on the issue of downfall of Pakistani film industry, an official in the Ministry of Culture said on Tuesday. “The film industry was suffering badly due to lack of technical assistance though script and direction were somehow better to attract the general public,” official said.
To overcome this issue, a meeting of the Chairperson Senate Standing Committee Nilofer Bakhtiar and other members is expected with the Prime Minister to discuss lack of funding for supporting the film industry and establishment of a film processing lab at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
According to the official, the cost of processing a film from Singapore, Dubai or Malaysia takes $70,000 to $100,000 which not only increases the cost of production but also keeps the investors to step back from investment which is ultimately leaving negative effects on the film industry.
For these reasons, the government has allowed the screening of a limited number of Indian movies at Pakistani cinema houses and in case these movie shows are restricted, the remaining 150 cinema houses will be closed. The government has also taken notice on the establishment of commercial plazas at the place of 850 cinema houses, which is illegal as the places were hired in the name of cinema houses.
The officials of USAID in this regard, have recommended to make a feasibility plan keeping in view the conditions of job creation, sustainability, accounting, auditing and transparency which would be discussed in the next meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Culture.
In pursuance of the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees, the ministry of Culture also wrote to all the provincial governments to add a cinema house in each of the newly establishing housing societies. The downfall of film industry has not only suffered the entertainment activities in the country but also hundreds of people associated with the industry who became unemployed, including some of the directors while the film studios are presenting graveyard silence, the official said.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:2/10/2010
