The result of the National Film Development Committee's National Film Development Corporation was set up on 1 June 1981, and started operation in Jalan Ampang then moved to Studio Merdeka Complex, Hulu Kelang on 19 December 1988, when Tan Sri Abdul Samad Idris was the chairman of Finas.

The government has also enforced the Compulsory Terms from January 1991 in the effort to develop the Malaysian film industry administered by Finas.

[6] On 10 April 2019, actor and producer Hans Isaac served as the Chairman of FINAS, succeeding Samsuni Mohd Nor.

[7] On 23 July 2020, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry announced that it would impose licensing on all video recording in Malaysia, which included social media posts.

[12][13] In November 2012, former Information, Communication and Culture Minister, Rais Yatim announced that FINAS and Filem Negara Malaysia (FNM) will be merged to form a sole film organization.

[14] The merger was completed on 31 May 2013 and was made to make the corporation would be responsible for the development of the local film industry to avoid wastage of funds and overlapping of provision of infrastructure.

The decision of merger between FINAS and Filem Negara was proposed in 1991, but delayed several times due to legal issues.