By: Staff Writer
October 20, Colombo (LNW): Amid claims of irregularities and favoritism in film distribution, Sri Lanka’s Media Minister, Vijitha Herath, announced plans to establish clear guidelines for releasing films.
He emphasized that the current government is committed to transparency and fairness, aiming to modernize the National Film Corporation (NFC) to better compete with the private sector.
Speaking at the appointment of new boards for the NFC and the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Herath highlighted the need to address past issues where films were allegedly released based on personal favors and rectify irregularities in bank loans to the film industry.
W. Prince Senadeera was appointed as the new Chairman of the NFC. Stakeholders in the local film industry criticized the NFC for inefficiency and malpractices since its inception in 1971, suggesting that these issues have hindered the sector’s growth.
Although the, 1971, 1987-1889 insurrections, three decade North East war and other minor revolts including Easter Sunday bomb attacks exerted impact on the industry, NFC’s monopoly in distribution and import of films has caused the down fall of the industry , they alleged.
As corporation was the sole distributer of films no good content was provided to cinemas resulting in patrons moving away from film going culture that was once very vibrant in the country.
When distribution partially liberalized in 2001 ., four private film distribution circuits Lanka Film Distributors Ltd. (LFD), E.A.P. Films and Theatres Ltd. (EAP), Movie Producers and Importers Ltd. (MPI), Cinema Entertainment Ltd. (CEL) entered the market in addition to the NFC have been permitted to import and distribution of films .
They urged the government to limit the NFC’s role to a regulatory body and to fully liberalize film distribution, allowing for private sector involvement without bureaucratic constraints.
The stakeholders also called for restructuring the NFC to support private exhibitors, producers, and distributors.
They argued that NFC’s past monopoly on film distribution negatively impacted the industry by failing to provide quality content, which discouraged the film-going culture. With partial liberalization in 2001, private distributors entered the market, boosting investments and revenue.
However, despite some progress, the NFC’s control over film distribution persisted, as indicated by a 2019 gazette notification that reaffirmed its dominant role. Stakeholders noted that this monopoly deterred major foreign studios from engaging with the Sri Lankan market.
They proposed that cinema hall owners be allowed to diversify their business operations to sustain profitability.
Calls were made to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) to reform the NFC into a more efficient regulatory body, focusing on improving its staff’s effectiveness while reducing its direct involvement in film distribution.
