Jakarta, 22 April, 2026 – The Ministry of Creative Economy/Creative Economy Agency (Ekraf) is advancing efforts to strengthen the film industry ecosystem through more professional production governance, as part of its national creative economy development strategy. This was conveyed by Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency, Irene Umar, during an audience with Wahana Edukasi.
Deputy Minister of Creative Economy, Irene Umar, received an audience with Wahana Edukasi at the Ministry of Creative Economy office in Jakarta on Wednesday (April 22, 2026).
The Deputy Minister emphasized that strengthening the industry must begin with its most fundamental aspects—financial management and well-structured working systems.
“One of the core challenges faced by creative professionals today is separating personal and project finances. This is a fundamental step before we can talk about broader access to financing and industry development,” she stated during the meeting at the Ministry’s office in Jakarta on Wednesday (April 22).
The discussion followed up on the SCENE program, which focuses on developing film talent through to implementation. The Ministry highlighted the importance of aligning training initiatives with actual industry needs.
Doc. Bureau of Communications, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
During the session, Wahana Edukasi outlined several on-the-ground challenges, particularly the need to improve production management. Key roles such as line producers and location managers were identified as areas requiring further capacity building, especially in budgeting, workflow systems, and the use of technology.
In response, the Deputy Minister stressed the importance of adopting adaptive approaches that reflect current industry conditions. She suggested that a location-based approach could serve as a practical and relevant starting point.
“If we have a well-curated database of locations, it can be immediately utilized for production while also stimulating the surrounding local economy. At present, we do not yet have a centralized database that can be jointly accessed,” she explained.
Furthermore, she encouraged the development of sustainable program models. A hybrid learning scheme—combining digital materials with mentorship—was identified as a promising solution, along with the potential implementation of a subscription-based model to support long-term funding.
Doc. Bureau of Communications, Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency.
The Ministry also underscored the importance of collaboration with universities through vocational approaches. Integrating theoretical learning with industry practice is considered essential to producing job-ready talent.
As a concrete step, the Ministry opened opportunities to develop a centralized, data-driven platform for mapping filming locations across Indonesia. This platform is envisioned as a one-stop system to facilitate industry players while strengthening Indonesia’s competitiveness as a film production destination.
“The Ministry can support this through platform development and data aggregation. What matters most is that the program can be tested and developed progressively,” she added.
Meanwhile, Advisor of Wahana Edukasi, Sigit Pratama, highlighted that one of the main challenges in the industry lies in the uneven capacity of production management. Strengthening this aspect, he noted, would directly impact project quality and the sustainability of the broader creative economy ecosystem.
“When production management is strengthened, the impact extends beyond individual projects to the entire creative economy ecosystem,” he said.
This meeting marks an initial step toward developing industry-based practical curricula for line producers and location managers, exploring collaboration with universities, and initiating an integrated filming location database to improve production governance and position the creative economy as the new engine of growth.
The Deputy Minister was accompanied by Director of Television and Radio, Radi Manggala.
Kiagoos Irvan Faisal
Head of Communications Bureau
Ministry of Creative Economy / Creative Economy Agency
