Good storyline, universal elements lacking in local films - FDAM

A weak storyline and lack of universal elements are among the main factors local films are unable to make it to the international market, said Association of Film Directors Malaysia (FDAM) president Othman Hafsham.

He said films with universal elements have a storyline that could be accepted and understood by all segments of society but it was found lacking in local films.

According to him, the audience could understand and relate with the films directed by Tan Sri P. Ramlee, for example, because they showed the elements relating with the individuals and community such as family, love and emotion.

"If the film subject is too indepth without the audience being given any leeway to understand the storyline, they will not relate and, if that happens, how are you going to share the emotions with the audience?", he said in an interview with Bernama.

Othman cited many examples from Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong which featured many universal elements that could easily get a place in the top five blockbuster films list.

The director of the popular 'Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu' sitcom said even though the number of film audience in Malaysia was the highest in Southeast Asia, the amount of collection for local films were among the lowest.

Refering to a study conducted by FDAM, he said, local audience also prefer watching foreign films more than local ones.

"Over the last 10 years, the film 'Munafik' could only be in the number seven ranking last year. In 2011, KL Gangster could only reach ninth ranking," he said on the pull of local films among Malaysian audience.

However throughout 2015, he said, about 68 million tickets were sold out for all types of films, including international films in Malaysia - exceeding ticket sales in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines which had more people compared to Malaysia.

"This shows Malaysians like to watch films but less likely to watch local ones. This can be seen when our films are rarely in the top five blockbuster films list that are mostly dominated by international films," said Othman.

He also said the study was aimed at finding the best approach to produce films that were 'saleable'.

"Normally, films that are saleable involved a certain subject that is impossible to attain and make the audience wonder 'if I'm in that situation (conflict), what will happen? What will I do'".

"For example, the film 'Munafik' narrates the story of a husband searching for the individual that hit him and his wife in an accident that occurred in a dark place without any CCTV (closed circuit camera)," he said.

He said such an element raised the curiosity of the audience on what would happen after that and they would continue to watch the film until the end.

Films that featured such 'impossible' elements would get better reception, he added. - BERNAMA