The letter, dated March 5, went viral after numerous film personalities and filmmakers, such as Hanung Bramantyo, Mira Lesmana, Joko Anwar, Ernest Prakasa, Mawar Eva De Jong, Syakir Daulay, Zaskia Adya Mecca, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Adipati Dolken, posted it in their social media accounts.

Into the second year of the pandemic, the national film industry is still struggling. Cinemas have reopened but the public is not really enthusiastic about returning to movie theatres mostly due to concerns about possible virus transmission and restrictions imposed by the authorities, even though health protocols are in place and mass vaccination is underway.

This is unfortunate because cinema is one of the main sources of income for the film industry and keeps it running. This dependency has now turned into a double-edged sword.

This issue prompted cinema managers and a number of prominent film personalities, grouped under Insan Film Indonesia, to publish the open letter to President Jokowi. They called on the government to support cinemas, which are now on brink of collapsing.

“We really hope that coordination of the Indonesian government through ministers in the Indonesia Onward Cabinet and the COVID-19 task force can help Indonesian cinema through various stimulus packages, subsidies, legal assistance and health protection,” the letter reads.

In this regard, rampant film piracy and the large number of people watching pirated movies are detrimental to film industry players. The longer a movie is screened, the more film industry players possibly lose the income they deserve as a result of piracy, regardless of the fact that movie production creates many jobs.

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