Press conference Oct '07 ENGLISH

PRESS RELEASE

In an effort to promote healthy competition among production companies in the TV commercials’ industry in Indonesia, and to offer the industy a unified voice in dealing with the changing landscape concerning government regulations and laws as well as demands from advertising agencies and clients, production companies in Indonesia banded together to form their own association, named Ikatan Perusahaan Film Iklan Indonesia (or I.P.F.I.I. in short). I.P.F.I.I. was declared as a legal association on May 15th, 2007 and successfully held their first Congress on Sep 1st, 2007.

The Congress was attended by 27 of the 28 who signed up as members by that date.

At the Congress, the members debated and agreed on the charter of the I.P.F.I.I., the Code of Ethics cum Rules of Conduct to be adopted by all members, and the working program for the elected officials. It was also agreed at the Congress that officials of I.P.F.I.I. shall consist of a 5-member Presidium elected for a term of 3 years, rather than the norm of having a Chairperson, General Secretary, Treasurer and others. This was advocated by I.P.F.I.I.’s legal counsel present at the Congress and considered to be the best option, in light of differing workloads for senior executives or Executive Producers of production companies who will eventually be elected into office.

Rina Sjafrina, one of the elected members of the Presidium, said: “Those members who have signed up so far already represent about 70 percent of TV commercials produced in Indonesia, and we feel that this is representative of the views of the industry. Our estimates of the amount spent on TV commercials’ production are in the region of 1 trillion Rupiahs (USD 108 million).”

“Our Code of Ethics cum Rules of Conduct obliges members to compete on a level playing field, be honest and not act in any way which may be detrimental the health of the industry and our profession” added Bunda (Ida Mediana), another member of the newly elected Presidium.

“Every member of I.P.F.I.I. must respect fellow members in their dealings with the industry. And all members must compete and secure jobs based on professional standards without offering commissions or procure the influence from third parties which is considered as both unethical and inappropriate” added Asih Dewayani, also a newly elected member of the Presidium.


“I.P.F.I.I. has come up with elaborate working programs where all members have agreed to and are expected to contribute and participate in one way or another. The programs are geared toward improving the quality of TVC production and the relationship between members and advertising agencies, clients, suppliers and crew.” added Fairus Sofyan, another elected member of the Presidium.

“Our ground rules are premised upon creating a healthy competitive environment in our industry within the realm of existing government laws and regulations in a way which will enable our industry to be at the same level as our peers around the region” added Dede Gracia, another member of the elected Presidium.

Government regulations
Among other matters, I.P.F.I.I. seek to come up with a uniform approach to existing laws and regulations regarding withholding taxes and the recent ministerial decree on “Made In Indonesia” requirements introduced in May 2007 for all TV commercials meant for broadcast in Indonesia.

“As a matter of fact, we found certain articles within that “Made In Indonesia” regulation to be vague and subject to interpretation, which could cause problems to our industry” said Fairus. “One of I.P.F.I.I.’s primary short term agenda is to address the ambiguities surrounding this regulation” he added.

Vison and misson

At the Congress, all members re-affirmed the Vision and Mission as follows:-
1. To create a level playing field in the industry so as to encourage and promote fair competition amongst all members.
2. To protect the interests of members within the Association
3. To provide a unified voice when addressing issues relating to the interests of members and the industry as a whole.
4. To offer agencies and clients a group of production companies of good standing, reputation and credibility as their suppliers, so they can have peace of mind when awarding jobs.
5. To promote the growth and advancement of the TVC production industry in Indonesia to match standards of those within the region and the rest of the world.


Our working program for 2007 to 2010
1. Recruitment of more members to increase representation of the association.
2. Organize activities to encourage more interaction and professional exchanges between our members.
3. Standardise all aspects of production – from quotations to crew hiring and supplier terms with the aim of improving the quality of our productions.
4. To organize workshops and seminars for our members and related parties to promote continuing professional learning and familiarization with the latest developments in technologies and film industries around the world.
5. To work together with related crew associations and to provide or support training programs so as to uplift the standards of production crew in Indonesia in relation to our regional counterparts.
6. To work with related crew associations to improve the welfare of crew in areas such as acceptable working hours, payment certainties, withholding tax deductions, overtime payments, safety in the workplace and workmen compensation insurance.
7. To work with related organizations within our industry, such as PPPI (advertising agencies association) and APINA (advertisers’ association) toward a common goal of improving the quality of Indonesian commercial productions.
8. To provide our members and advertising agencies and clients with a clear and unambiguous approach to government regulations such as PerMen 25 (MII regulations), in collaboration with PPPI and APINA and through the organizing of seminars for members and related parties to disseminate any clarifications obtained.
9. To achieve some from of standardization in our members’ working relationships with suppliers and talent agencies, which have so far been left in uncharted territories, such that our advertising agencies and clients can be assured of certainties and their rights and obligations during and after a production.
10. To organize an “I.P.F.I.I.” Awards in line with regional and global standards to recognize craftsmanship within the industry.

In summation, Bunda said: “We are a new association and we know that we cannot afford to be too ambitious. But with the will and support of all our members, I am quite sure that we, members of the Presidium, will be able to see our programs through successfully for the next three years.”