KUALA LUMPUR: The recent leak of banned 2006 film Dukun has angered the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and its director-general Datuk Fauzi Ayob.
Fauzi said they were shocked by the "screening" of Dukun on the Internet and was awaiting a full report about it as well as feedback from the producers.
“We've been working closely with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Malaysian Film Producers' Association (PFM) to crack down on film piracy, especially live streaming on social media. It's a gross violation of intellectual property and once again, we want to warn the public that it's a serious offence," he told Harian Metro yesterday.
Fauzi added that Finas called on cinemagoers and netizens to give their fullest cooperation in bringing the video pirates to book.
Dukun's producer Astro Shaw's head Najwa Abu Bakar declined to comment on the leak. She said: "We fully support the authorities investigating the alleged leak.”
The film's director Dain Said said he was unaware of the leak, and added that it was fully in the hands of the producers.
“Dukun” was supposed to be screened in 2007, but the National Film Censorship Board (LPF) banned it, stating that its storyline offended the families of the individuals portrayed in it.
While its characters were all fictional, they were based on real-life bomoh Mona Fandey who murdered Pahang State Assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris in the mid-1990s. She was sentenced to death by hanging.
The film had a star-studded cast which included Datin Paduka Umie Aida, Hasnul Rahmat, Namron, Bront Palarae and Faizal Hussein.
Last week, the 95-minute film was uploaded on the Internet.