Growing pains: local film and television production may be thriving but the Malaysian post-production sector is in a flux of change, as it develops quickly and faces growing pains along the way.(CountryFocus: Malaysia)

It might have been a long time coming, but it is certainly having an affect. The Malaysian government is now pumping millions and millions of dollars into the film industry. Realizing the importance of film, the government's National Film Development Corporation (Finas) invested US$14.9 million in 10 films last year. It also put money into the creation of the Digital Mix Stage Studio, has hosted workshops and encouraged the opening of more cinemas in the country.

In just a little over a decade the Malaysian film industry has grown from when seven films were produced in 1999, to 26 local releases in 2009. This boon has continued to the TV sector as Finas has collaborated with the likes of Discovery Channel, National Geographic and History Channel to produce several documentaries on Malaysia. More than 10 documentaries were produced in 2009 through this collaboration alone, and the production pipeline looks solid. The government seems prepared to continue investing in local film and TV work, and paired with a decently performing advertising market, this can be only good news for the post sector.

"A lot of changes have happened lately, and they are [happening] fast," said Moon Chan Kien, managing director of MFX, a design, animation and VFX studio. "The growth of digital technology and digital media had catapulted immense changes that affected the role we play in the process, just like how digital tools and media have affected the entertainment and advertising business."

Moon feels that the Malaysian post-production sector is growing so fast, although there is a …