Two #Indonesian films to screen in Hong Kong

Two Indonesian films, Surau dan Silek (Surau and Silek) and MARS - Mimpi Ananda Raih Semesta (Ananda's Dream Achieved the Universe) are set to screen in Hong Kong on Sunday.

With the aim to promote local films abroad, the special screening titled "BISA Hong Kong Film Award" is presented by the Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry's Film Development Center in collaboration with the Be Indonesian Smart 'n' Active (BISA) initiative and the Indonesian Migrant Workers (BMI) union in Hong Kong and Macau, news agency Antara reported.

Arul Muchsen, a representative from BISA, praised Surau dan Silek for its local content, as the Minang language is used in most of the film. Arul added that the film’s director, Arief Malinmudo, had also involved children from Minang to take part in the film.

Meanwhile, MARS, which was partly shot at Oxford University, tells the story of a student from a small village in Gunung Kidul in Yogyakarta, who was able to obtain education at the prestigious university in the United Kingdom. 

 

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"This film inspires many children from the regions [of Indonesia] to continue school and obtain higher education," Arul said of MARS, which was released in 2016.

Emilka Bias, the producer of Surau dan Silek, expressed hope that the film would inspire Indonesians who have traveled away from home to not forget about their country. 

"Hopefully, those who are homesick will enjoy the fragments of the beauty of the archipelago presented in this film, as well as appreciate it as a national film with local wisdom," Emilka said.

The Film Development Center's head, Maman Wijaya, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that next year's event would be held to coincide with the 2018 Hong Kong Filmart event and the Hong Kong Film Festival to gain more exposure.  

Source - TheJakartaPost

Disney empire strikes back, sort of, with new streaming plan

Walt Disney Co. has the potential to shake up the television sector with its plan to offer direct-to-consumer streaming services and take on Netflix on its own turf.

But analysts say the move is likely to have only limited impact on the Netflix juggernaut and represents an effort by Disney to keep pace with the industry shift to online television services.

Disney announced Tuesday it would launch a "multi-sport" streaming service under its ESPN brand in early 2018 and a Disney branded direct-to-consumer service in 2019.

At the same time, Disney said it would end its distribution agreement with Netflix for subscription streaming of new releases starting in 2019, including popular film franchises like "Lion King" and "Frozen."

The shift is likely a positive move "because Disney is a destination brand," said Rebecca Lieb, an independent media analyst and former television executive.

"Of all the content providers, Disney is in the best position. Parents take their kids to see the next Disney movie, and sports fans will follow ESPN."

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Missing pieces 

But a closer look at the Disney announcement suggests it is not as dramatic as it appeared initially.

Disney chief Robert Iger said the company had not yet decided on whether its "Star Wars" and Marvel films would be on the Disney-owned service or on third parties such as Netflix.

And its ESPN service may be limited to sports such as baseball and ice hockey, without the more popular professional basketball and National Football League games.

"I don't think the threat to Netflix is that great," said Alan Wolk, an independent consultant who follows the television industry.

"Netflix is very well entrenched especially since they are international."

Wolk noted that streaming-only viewers without cable subscriptions are interested in live sports but that it's not clear if the ESPN package will be attractive.

"This is not full-fledged and I wonder if it will have trouble attracting viewers since it doesn't have NBA and NFL."

Disney's move comes with many US television viewers abandoning expensive cable TV "bundles" in favor of on-demand online services like Netflix and Hulu.

The availability of standalone streaming from channels like HBO and CBS is likely to accelerate that trend, as will the new services from Disney.

Read also: Disney teases ‘Star Wars’ hotel in park investment flurry

Getting viewer data 

Wolk said one advantage for Disney of moving online is getting better data on viewers without relying on third-parties.

"Traditional broadcasters have no relationship with their consumers, they have no idea who they are," Wolk said.

"One of the advantages (of streaming) for Disney is they get email addresses and credit card numbers. For advertising they can do addressable and cross-screen advertising."

Tuesday's announcement coincided with Disney's boosting its stake in the streaming technology group BAMTech LLC. Disney said it would pay $1.58 billion to acquire an additional 42 percent stake in BAMTech to bring its ownership to 75 percent.

But Richard Greenfield at BTIG Research argued that Disney's actions were "too little, too late" in a sector that is rapidly shifting to a Netflix model.

"When historians look back on who is to blame for the rise of Netflix, we believe they will focus their attention on Disney, under the leadership of Iger," Greenfield said in a note to clients.

Read also: Fans of Disney? List of upcoming movies to be excited about

"Disney has sold Netflix more content across film and television than any other company, with Netflix now 'a monster' that we believe has achieved escape velocity."

Greenfield said Disney could have built its own direct-to-consumer system but is now playing a costly catch-up game that is likely to be "painful" for revenues.

"Disney simply waited too long to make this critical decision," Greenfield said.  

Jan Dawson at Jackdaw Research agreed that Disney is late to the game.

The company "has been suffering as ESPN subscriber numbers and ratings go downhill, and so is coming at this direct-to-consumer shift from a position of weakness rather than strength, making it more urgent and critical for the company’s future," Dawson said in a blog post.

"But those services won’t launch until next year (ESPN) or the year after (Disney), meaning that the company won’t see any meaningful positive impact until it’s seen several more quarters of declines in the ESPN business."

Source - TheJakartaPost

Paul McCartney in Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

 Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) feels the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost sailors led by his old nemesis, the evil Capt. Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil's Triangle. Jack's only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it, he must forge an uneasy alliance with a brilliant and beautiful astronomer and a headstrong young man in the British navy.