THE Film Directors Association of Malaysia (FDAM) aims to find, coach and promote Malaysia's next big filmmakers in 2023.
Its president, Datuk Ahmad Ibrahim or Mat London, said they aimed to find 10 aspiring young directors, and train them with help from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas).
"This month, we will be organising a roadshow to find the next promising director, and hopefuls will be scouted in six regions namely the Northern Region, Central Region, Southern Region, East Coast, Sarawak, and Sabah," he said in a recent interview.
"A total of 30 hopefuls will be shortlisted. They must possess good storytelling skills, be original, think out of the box, and be energetic and strong."
Ahmad added that the candidates aged between 18 and 35 would be given six months of training in appropriate courses pertaining to filmmaking, including courses in special effects.
Two public universities, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Utara Malaysia, will be supporting FDAM by providing venues and academicians to guide the candidates along their journeys.
"FDAM and Finas will promote and fund their works. I believe that Malaysia has many talented filmmakers waiting to be discovered, but we have to work hard to unearth them.
"Like rare gems, they need to be polished with good training and exposure, so that they can create works that bring more Malaysians to the cinema halls," said Ahmad, adding that films were a commodity that could bring good export earnings to the country.
"A good filmmaker is one who can make great films with low budgets, and such films must be able to compete internationally. Many of the award-winning films of late have been low-budget yet good stories."
Ahmad also said that FDAM would also be searching for actors and actresses as well as screenwriters in the coming years.