Maldivian Film Industry's Market Value Averages MVR 15 Million a Year, Says Minister Heena Waleed

The market value of the Maldivian film industry averages around MVR 15 million a year, Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Heena Waleed said last night. The minister made the remarks during the latest episode of the "Ahaa" forum, produced jointly by the President's Office and state media PSM, in response to a question submitted by a member of the public. In that question, the person asked why the expenditure on administration and promotion is larger than the direct benefit reaching ordinary workers in the arts and heritage sector from the state budget allocated to the sector. Minister Heena said the state budget spending on Maldivian artists is expenditure that is very heavily subsidised. As an example, Heena said the National Art Gallery is provided to artists without any daily rent. However, 15 percent of the profit an artist earns from an exhibition must be deposited into the trust fund of the National Centre for the Arts (NCA), she said. "Then, even looking at the film sector along with that, that is very important, big work done by artists in that manner. Many films are now being screened at Olympus, and the sector is progressing greatly. Currently, the business value of this sector is averaging around MVR 15 million a year," Heena said. Heena said Olympus is also rented out at a very low price, at most MVR 2,000 per night. However, Heena said that in addition to the Olympus cinema hall, there are also practice rooms, training rooms and other spaces in the art gallery, and that maintaining and repairing those spaces incurs large costs. "The biggest expenditure made from the state budget is, in truth, expenditure we make on artists that is very heavily subsidised, in order to open up opportunities for them to earn as much as possible from the fields of art," the minister said. Heena said that although the government's policy is to subsidise artists, the aim is to increase the income they receive while also helping artists to further advance the sector. According to the article, the piece was filed by Ifraaz Ali and published on 12 October 2026 at 11:59.