Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER 71 FILMS IN MALAYA alongside OTHER Governments the newly formed Malayan Union has set up its own Film Production Unit under the control of the Department of Public Relations. The event is an important one in documentary film historv, particularly because of the wide geographical and racial coverage which the unit can achieve. The Malayan population is admittedly a mere eight million, but it is divided into three main racial groups: Malay, Indian and Chinese. Other races are represented, including European, and the population is therefore widely representative of the whole of South-East Asia. It is not too much to conclude that films appealing to any particular race in Malaya w ill also appeal to the country of origin, e.g. China, India, Indonesia, and if they appeal to all three main divisions then thej will be assured a showing throughout South-East Asia. In fact, although the Malayan Film Production Unit may be known as such, it will really have the status of the South-East Asian Unit, and potentially it is capable of exercising a wide influence. A short time ago Information Films of [ndia led the held in the area and their production output was very considerable. Unfortunately the Indian Government has not been able to sec its way to continue film-making and so IFI has to all intents and purposes closed shop. It is more than probable that the unit will be set up again when the mistake has been fully realised, but for the time being MFPU is left as the only unit capable of serving South-East Asia. Even with IFI in full production its output did not satisfy the demand and by far the greater bulk of films shown in the area were made through European motive. Although the commentaries were adapted to the various languages, the Asiatic still lost a certain amount in that he had perforce to look at foreigners on the screen. Although the films certainly got a showing and were appreciated, the occasional film made from the Asiatic point of view and dealing with Asiatics got an appreciation one thousand per cent greater, even if it was technically not so good. Added to this, of course, there are a vast number of subjects that have never b;en and can never be dealt with by European units, either because the European cannot appreciate the Oriental outlook and make full use of film as a medium or because there are not units enough to cover the subjects waiting. The Malayan Film Unit should answer both these problems in part. The formation of the unit opens up a new vista of film material and the fact that the staff will be chiefly Asiatic means that films will be made from their point of view. A small number of British film technicians have been taken in to ensure that the Asiatic-staff gets the best possible grounding in documentary film production, but it is hoped that in the course of a few years they will take over and run their own unit. In Malaya, the idea of a documentary film unit is a new one and it is difficult to find trained personnel because very few films of any description have been made here before the war. The output of finished films for the first >ear will be small, but as the technical skill of the staff improves, teething troubles are overcome and the idea is proved, the volume of production will increase accordingly. A nucleus of equipment has been purchased from the American Army Film and Photo Section, and may be classed among the finest. In time, the unit will he entirely selfcontained with its own processing plant, recording channels, stage and animation studio. Most films will be made in Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English, and additional language versions will be recorded for other countries in the area so that showing will not be reserved for Malaya alone. Films will be also made to cater for individual races in Malaya but usually they should have a general appeal. It is important that the idea of the three races living in harmony together should be preserved and fostered. The unit will be run as a public service and its aim will be to improve the standards of living and education in the area. Literacy in Malaya stands at 40 per cent and it is lower still in adjoining countries. The circulation of printed matter is restricted to a fraction of the population; radio is hampered by the scarcity of receiving sets. It will therefore largely be through film that knowledge and information will reach the people. Side by side with the formation of the film production unit in Malaya, the development of non-theatrical showing is going ahead even faster. Shortly there should be a number of sixteen and thirty-five millimetre projectors on the road daily, giving shows all over the Union. It is hoped that they will achieve a yearly audience figure to compare favourably with those obtaining in the United Kingdom ; and there is reason to suppose that they may even prove more successful, because they are not hampered by the size of a village hall or by rival attractions in the same way that we are in Europe. Showings will be made chiefly in thekampongs (villages) and out of doors where the size of the audience is only limited by the output of the speakers and the size of the screen. If the non-theatrical development in neighbouring countries keeps pace with Malaya's, the field open to the Malayan film Production Unit will be very considerable. No mention has yet been made of theatric d showing and here we can expect a verv large addition to the yearly audience figure. Although there is no intention to rival commercial interests in film production and films will never be made for direct monetary profit, there will be a definite programme of films made with a view to getting theatrical distribution. Every co-operation from the distributors can be expected. In this way the townsman will see the unit's productions in the public theatres as well as in the schools, the lecture halls and the market place, while the country folk will be served with non-theatrical showings. Besides making films specially for distribution in South-East Asia, productions will be put in hand for distribution in countries outside the area. It is time that the people of the East were better understood by the rest of the world, and the idea — so tenaciously held by the Western mind — that the Far East is a savage place full of Dorothy Lamours in sarongs, venomous snakes draped over every branch and jungles made of red-spotted fungus and aspidistras, be finally and for ever shattered. The Malayan Film Unit's function will largely be to help the population of South-East Asia to lit more securely into the pattern of modern world economy and to bring about a better understanding between East and West. In Malaya it has been proved over the last century that four races can live in harmony together. Here is a perfect background for a documentary film unit. -AND IN EGYPT as is well known, the marvels of modern civilization make it possible to take a tram from Cairo to the Pyramids of Giza. The same tram will take you to Egypt's Denham, where almost in the shadow of the Great Pyramid stand the stages and laboratories of the MISR studios — the largest and best-equipped in Egypt. (MISR, by the way, is the banking and financial organization which has an interest in most aspects of the country's trade and general economy, including the very efficient airlines.) At the MISR studios you will find one large stage, one small, a fully equipped sound department with a recording theatre and a dubbing theatre, and all the usual appurtenances of film-making. Owing to the war, it has been difficult to renew and repair much of the essential apparatus, and a lot of ingenuity on the part of the staff has been necessary. But today a certain amount of new apparatus is being installed or due for delivery. These studios arc rented out as well as operating on their own account. At present renting is in the ascendant, and is a reflection of the astonishing boom in Egyptian films which is now at its climax. It is computed that there are over 140 film production companies in Egypt at the moment, and even allowing for the fact that many of these arc one-picture concerns, the output per year is colossal. Someone in Cairo said that at the moment some 150 feature-length films are awaiting release. As lar as one can make out, average produc tion time for a feature is four to six weeks. The bulk of the costs seem to go to the stars, who receive anything from £5,000 to £12,000 for a month's work, according to their popularity. (There is virtually no income tax.) In fact, there are all the symptoms of an impending slump. Background to all this are some salient tacts which count. The Egyptian industry is only about fifteen years old. Its rapid growth has taken place largely because no other producing country was (or is) making Arabic dialogue talkies for the audiences of the Near and Middle East. The Arabic speaking peoples are, in general, ardent and certainly indefatigable movie-goers, and the market is much larger than you might expect. A further and more recent factor has been the passing of a law by the Egyptian Government not unlike our own quota law. I'his encouragement for home-made films has led to the multiplicity of production companies and the over-production already mentioned. Broadlv speaking, there are two main t\ Egyptian features, first, the presumably mev liable— attempts to make social dramas and or comedies in imitation ot' the Western type of feuilleton storv. second, action pictures based cither on Arabian legend or on contemporary life. In these the Western is largely the model used. Ouahtv. with certain exceptions, is In no means high. I veil a brief acquaintance with 'ntinued on page 77)