22 May – Recently, Malaysia's National Film Development Corp (FINAS) has unveiled two huge events at Cannes that would be held in Kuala Lumpur in November this year, which are The International Film Festival of Malaysia (IFFM) that will be held from 10-18 November and the Kuala Lumpur Content and Communications Industry Market (KLCCIM) which will be held from 15-18 November.
According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily, FINAS director-general Mohd Naguib Razak has announced that Malaysia will be having its very own International Film Festival to showcase films from the surrounding region, with sections dedicated to art house productions, local productions from the region, and contemporary or classical Malaysian films.
Two internationally renowned Malaysians, Hong Kong-based producer Lorna Tee and New York Times critic Dennis Lim, have been selected as the festival's director and creative director respectively.
Meanwhile, the 16,000 square feet convention known as the Kuala Lumpur Content and Communication International Market (KLCCIM) that would be held at the Putrajaya World Trade Centre is expected to bring in industry players from the television, music, games and fashion industries to the country's first film market.
Meanwhile, Naguib also announced a new tax-rebate scheme for foreign and local filmmakers that will begin in February next year. Foreign productions costing more than RM5 million or local productions that spent more than RM2.5 million would be entitled for a 30 percent rebate. It is hoped that this scheme will help lift some of the financial burdens off budding filmmakers.
According to Naguib, a Film in Malaysia office to process the applications for the scheme will be launched by FINAS by October this year.
