A

s the Hollywood film boycott continues with no sign of an deal between Indonesia and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), some fans are going overseas to watch summer blockbusters.

One film buff, Swasti Istika, said she booked a flight to Singapore for July 28 so she could watch the final film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.

“I have seen all Harry Potter movies. It would kill me if I don’t watch the very last one in the series.”

Swasti said that she would watch the film with her three best friends. “We booked a hotel room and agreed we would evenly share all the expenses for our two-night stay in Singapore.”

Swasti’s friend Mila said the trio would take advantage of the opportunity to watch other summer blockbusters, including Transformers: Dark of the Moon. “We want to make the most of our stay.”

Another Hollywood movie fan, Christine Nababan, said that she, too, would leave for Singapore this weekend for the Harry Potter sequel.

“I watched other Hollywood blockbusters like The Fast and Furious 5, Transformers 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in Thailand last month on a holiday trip. So I need to see the Harry Potter film, as well. It’s a shame that Indonesians can’t get the chance to watch the movies here,” she said.

The Indonesian government has asked the US government to find other local importers to end the MPA’s five-month boycott.

The local companies with the contracts to import films made by the MPA, which represents most of Hollywood’s major studios, suspended imports in January amid a spat on paying the Indonesian government Rp 300 billion (US$35.09 million) in royalty fees and penalties.

As previously reported, the MPA declined a request made by Blitz Megaplex, one of two movie theater chains in Indonesia, to allow it to import MPA films since the MPA had agreements with the Blitz’s larger rival, the Cineplex 21 Group.

Those who can’t afford a flight overseas have, predictably, sought DVDs of recently released Hollywood films from the city’s ubiquitous pirate DVD sellers.

“It’s not really worth it to go abroad just to see the films. It would be better to just wait for the pirate DVD of the film or ask my friends to download it from the Internet,” one movie fan, Muhammad, told the Post.

The dispute, which involves the MPA, local importers, the Finance Ministry and the Culture and Tourism Ministry, has confused and confounded many movie fans.

Angel and Niken, for example, were at a local multiplex on Monday on the off chance that something had somehow changed and that they would be able to see a Hollywood blockbuster.

“We have been waiting for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, Thor and Transformers 3, but now we know that the ban has not been lifted,” Angel said.

The women, who were in a vast, sparsely occupied cinema in Central Jakarta, said that the theater was crowded for discount screenings every Monday when Hollywood films played.

Seperately, Blitz Megaplex marketing director Dian Sunardi told The Jakarta Post that audiences have been off 25 percent to 30 percent in the past five months.

Dian said that Blitz Megaplex sold an average of 100,000 tickets a week in 2010, declining to comment further. (msa)