P

rominent Indonesian filmmakers are heading for a showdown with the Tourism Ministry, vowing to sue if the government is not transparent as to why bureaucrats are sent overseas to film festivals.

Nia Dinata, the award-winning director and producer, said she and about 200 other filmmakers under the aegis of Bela Film Indonesia would not stop after their recent protest led to the firing of an official who allegedly abused his power to send bureaucrats '€” and not filmmakers '€” to the Berlin Film festival at government expense.

'€œThe ministry has ousted its film industry development director, Armein Firmansyah. However, we feel as film industry practitioners that this move is not enough,'€ Nia told The Jakarta Post by phone on Monday.

'€œWe demand more officials be punished,'€ she added. '€œThe ministry secretary-general, Ukus Kuswara, and the cultural-based creative economy director general, Ahman Sya, must also resign.

Nia said that Ukus and Ahman would have a chance to defend their decision first.

'€œWe have met them and they said that they would do an internal investigation of this Berlin Film Festival controversy. We told them they could do that and that they had to reveal their findings publicly. If we feel that the findings are unsatisfactory, then we will file a class-action [lawsuit],'€ Nia said.

The controversy began after film director Joko Anwar made several provocative comments on Twitter, where he has a huge following, in early February.

'€œThe ministry secretary-general is apparently approving the financing of unknown and questionable individuals to participate in the festival,'€ Joko said in a message containing an image of a ministry bureaucrat'€™s paperwork for the festival.

The Berlin Film Festival, one of the world'€™s largest and most prestigious, is a critical stop for filmmakers and industry professionals.

Currently holding its 65th edition, the festival simultaneously stages the European Film Market, which, according to its website, will host more than 11,000 film buyers and sellers, producers, distributors and financiers from Feb. 5 to 15.

Nia said that Joko'€™s message on Twitter confirmed suspicions that officials were mismanaging the ministry'€™s budget for supporting filmmakers and thus failed to support local artists.

'€œWe have known about the shameless practices of the ministry for years. However, we did not
have solid evidence back then,'€ Nia said.

'€œWe have talented filmmakers whose films have been selected to be featured in Berlin, but they could not go because the ministry says that there is no financing. Then, the ministry suddenly has the financing to send unknown individuals to Berlin. Where is the logic in this?'€ Nia added.

Contacted separately, film critic Makbul Mubarak, who regularly attends the Berlin festival, said
that bureaucrats had no role in representing Indonesian films overseas.

'€œThe government must stop acting as if its officials have a clue about the film industry,'€ he said in an email from Berlin. '€œLeave the business to practitioners. The government should only act as financiers and nothing more.'€

Separately, Ahman said that the ministry would wait for instructions from Tourism Minister Arief Yahya before answering the demands.

'€œThe minister is still out of town,'€ Ahman said.