Reel time for foreign flicks

Since January, over 60 foreign films have been screened by Mingalar Cinema Group, the largest cinema operator in Myanmar, 20 by Junction Cineplex Group and four by other cinemas.

"There is a huge gap between the number of local and foreign films screened and released, which has to do with the bureaucratic red tape that causes long delays for cinema releases," said DEFS director Thein Tun Aung.

"Only the largest cinema grabs the new releases first while other cinemas have to wait before they can screen them. We need to fix this in the near future. The aim of the movie theatres’ switch to digital projection is to make sure that all new releases hit the cinemas nationwide at the same time," he added.

Over 30 cinemas in Myanmar have switched to digital projection with about 20 more set to upgrade to digital screens.  Among them, 12 state-owned cinemas on a long-term lease and nine privately owned cinemas have made the transition to digital projection. Seven state-owned cinemas on a long-term lease and 11 privately owned cinemas are being outfitted with digital projectors. 

"There will be more digital cinemas by the end of this year. We are also negotiating with some cinema operators to upgrade to digital projection," he said, adding that the local film industry plans to stop using conventional film projectors by the end of this year. 

  Limited local releases also have to do with the scourge of film censorship. 

The censorship board vows to take a tougher stand from December 1 following the relaxation of regulations since 2011. 

The film censorship board has been in talks with local film-makers in an attempt to reach a compromise over the inappropriate content in films and direct-to-home videos, according to a senior official from the Department for Enhancing Film Standards. 

Critics have called for the censorship board to review certain films and direct-to-home videos with inappropriate fashion, dialogues, jokes and the numerous releases of horror films and direct-to-home videos. Films with vulgar content were usually cut, or banned in the past. 

"What we mean by strictly controlling the censorship regulations is not to cut scenes or ban films like in the past," said Thein Tun Aung, director of the Department for Enhancing Film Standards, adding: “We will notify [respective film production companies] and negotiate with them to fix harmful scenes. The most important thing is not to have harmful scenes for the audience."