HOUSE OF THE WEEK

An abundance of space at FMI City

CERTAINLY, space is not a problem in this house – once you get there. Over the Hlaing River, 45 minutes from downtown, there is a large one-storey house in a big compound waiting for someone ready to trade time for space. ...more

Yangon Weather Forecast, Burma

Success of comedy films not a laughing matter

WITH the huge success of film comedy Hot Shot in 2008, producers have since been turning out comedy films with wild abandon in the hope of achieving the same kind of success, to the detriment of quality drama films.

“The aesthetic value of the films screened this year has diminished with the creative art of film seemingly lost, but there has been a huge improvement in the dreaming up of new jokes to make an laugh audience,” said director Maung Maung Oo of Snow White Film Production Company.

While new comedies are appearing in cinemas all the time, most production companies are reluctant to produce drama films as they do not make money.

“Drama films faced an uncertain future [in 2009]. Producers dared not invest in drama movies, production companies plotted simple stories for films based on amusing things and hardly considered atypical film plots. So the quality of films has decreased; all film companies care about is making a profit,” said Maung Maung Oo.

Ma Aye Aye Min, a producer at Pyo and Min Film Production Company, believes that comedy films are enjoying so much success because cinemagoers are mostly from a young demographic and prefer a lighter form of entertainment.

“I think what audiences like differs according to their age. People over 40 like more profound and thoughtful films but those in their 20s or 30s favour lighter, funnier films,” she said.

Although comedy films are booming, audiences are becoming pickier about what they watch, believes Ma Min Min That, a producer at Nae Thit Oo Film Production Company.

“When more comic films began appearing on the big screen, fans came to be more selective, looking for films which both entertain and educate,” she said.

One factor limiting innovation in the film industry is the cost of production. With small margins, producers do not want to risk their money on films that might fail.

Director Yi Zaw believes that if cinemas converted to digital, the cost of producing films would fall significantly, spurring greater risk-taking in film production.

“One of the films currently screening at cinemas was converted from digital to film at a cost of K30 million. If we could screen films digitally without changing them into film it would cut our costs and more computer editing could be done,” he said.

He suggests that building a number of standard digital mini-theatres could also be a factor in the success of the film industry.

“There were nearly 500 cinemas in the past, but some were damaged or old so many cinemas could not make a big profit. The low return from the cinemas has been linked to poor investment in films,” added the director.

In addition, rampant piracy is cutting into the profits of all creative industries.
Outside of Yangon, however, the balance between comedy and drama films is more equal, with many countryside areas enjoying other genres.

“Movie fans in the districts enjoy watching sad movies and action movies, so companies have turned out a mix of half comedies and half dramas for video distribution.

Despite the increase in comedy movies, many producers would like to create more quality dramas.
“After reading writer Khin Khin Htoo’s story, Kyoe Tann, I had a desire to make it into a film, which I did although drama films were bombing [in the cinemas]. The film barely covered it costs, and the audience figures at the cinemas were not as great as we expcted, even though I deem the quality of the film to be excellent,” said Ma Aye Aye Min.

Another drama film Zaw Ka Ka Nay Thi (Zaw’s dance), also hit cinemas in 2009 although failed to draw in a young crowd.
Will anything change in 2010? Maung Maung Oo does not believe so.

“I expect that comic films will still be screening next year because more than ten new comedies have passed through censorship.”