M

ovie producer Sheila “Lala” Timothy believes that books can be an important tool for anyone in the film industry who is looking to produce better movies.

“I spend a great deal of my reading time reading books that offer me references that I can use in my movies,” Lala told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

Lala, who is also the chairwoman of the Indonesian Film Producers Association (Aprofi), added that most of the books she read were non-fiction because she depended on historical and factual data that she may be able to use in her movies.

So far, Lala has proven that by diligently looking for references through books, she can produce films that are well received by critics but also manage to achieve commercial success.

“I also like to read books that are concerned with the movie industry and film production because that is my line of work,” she said.

Through such discipline, Lala has been able to glean important knowledge on how to sustain her business as a producer — the person responsible for ensuring a return on investment — so she can produce more movies in the long run.

“Basically, I am interested in books that can support me in the film industry and in my career. As a producer, I need to know about how to find out about the target market of a certain film and I also need to know about the details of movie production so that my films come out as high quality works,” she said.