Show Will Go on for One Film Importer1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne foreign film importer has been cleared to bring movies into Indonesia after reportedly paying the government Rp 9 billion ($1.05 million) in back taxes, but it’s not time for film lovers to rejoice yet.
Agung Kuswandono, the director general of customs, said on Wednesday that the importer, which was not named, had resumed bringing in foreign titles, raising hopes that the country’s cinemas would soon be flush with Hollywood blockbusters. But these hopes were quickly dashed.
“The importer whose problem has been solved is an importer of foreign independent films, not an MPAA film importer,” said Syamsul Lussa, the director of films at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, referring to the Motion Pictures Association of America.
Films from MPAA, which includes Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment, have not been shown in the country since Feb. 17, when the studios decided that new local import regulations had “a detrimental impact on the cost of bringing a film into Indonesia.”
