Filmmaker Chhay Bora, who directed the yet-to-be released 3.50 , said that the censorship board has never explained to him
their grounds for evaluating movies.
It's like walking in the jungle with no road map to follow, said Bora, whose film on sex trafficking was supposed to be released last October but never received final approval. Although
his script was approved, Bora said that the censorship board has failed to reach a verdict on the final version. No specific cuts have been ordered by the ministry, he said, but feedback he received suggested that censorship board members were concerned
about the movie's heavy social commentary.
The Ministry of Culture film department said they didn't ban the film, but they didn't grant the licence yet, said Bora, adding that although the film's dialogue did not seem to
cause controversy, the censorship board expressed concern over not less than 10 shots. Some of the criticism, Bora said, was over shots that the board claimed represented Cambodia in a bad light, such as a taxi driver throwing a cigarette out the
window and a scene within the impoverished White Building community on Sothearos Boulevard.
Bora also said that other scenes were too political for the censors' comfort, such as a shot of a character walking down a dusty
road with Prime Minister Hun Sen's office visible in the background.
Bora also said that the board insisted that all plot conflicts be resolved before the credits roll. In particular one of his characters, after escaping a
brothel, is last seen joining a group of other former sex workers instead of trying to return home. Her ultimate fate is never revealed, but the possibility of her returning to sex work is not ruled out.
The censors said: why
don't you find a solution for her, to find an NGO or new job? And I said that's not my job. The filmmaker has no possibility to solve the social problem.
Summary Notes
When a young Cambodian
village girl is sold off into prostitution, a brash American documentary filmmaker ventures deep into the underbelly of Phnom Penh to pursue her story and rescue the girl, crossing paths with various other lives affected by the unspeakable terrain of the
country's virginity trade.
21 Months of Hell is a
2017 documentary by Yadu Vijayakrishnan.
India: Banned in January 2018
A documentary about India's Emergency , titled 21 Months of Hell , has been banned by Kerala's regional office of the
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The director Yadu Vijayakrishnan told PTI that the documentary mainly features interviews of victims of the Emergency along with the re-enactment of scenes of the alleged tortures methods recreated with
actors
Vijayakrishnan said the CBFC asked for proof of the torture methods used by the police during the Emergency. Though there are testimonies of surviving victims and case reports, the Board wanted written government proof of the torture methods of
that time. And of course the government is hardy likely to allow public access to records proving its own recourse to torture.
Summary Review
In June 25th 1975, Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi
declared Emergency on the nation which bestowed her the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. This resulted in the mass arrests of leaders and activists of opposition who she saw as a threat to
her political life. With the introduction of the new law MISA(Maintenance of Internal Security Act), anyone could be arrested without fair trial or evidences. Making use of the political atmosphere and direct orders from the government, the police
department exercised their aggression at free will. For the pro-democracy activists, India became a literal hell from the day of declaration of the Emergency until its withdrawal 21 months later. The documentary '21 Months of Hell' explores the ingenious
torture method administered by the Police for intimidating political prisoners at that time. With the real life accounts of surviving victims of the torture.
300 is a 2006 USA action fantasy by Zack Snyder. Starring Gerard
Butler, Lena Headey and David Wenham.
Iran: Banned
From IMDb. Shortly after its release, Iranian bloggers and journalists were outraged by the movie. With headlines like
Hollywood Declares War on Iranians, they chastised the movie for its monstrous portrayal of the ancient Persians, ancestors of modern Iranians. A cultural adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called it American psychological warfare against Iran. The
film ended up duly being banned, seemingly as the Iranian authorities found it insulting that their forebears were outsmarted by Greeks.
Summary Notes
In the Battle of Thermopylae of
480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian King Xerxes led a Army of well over
100,000 (Persian king Xerxes before war has about 170,000 army) men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw but left with no options he pushed
forward. After 3 days of battle all the Greeks were killed. The Spartan defeat was not the one expected, as a local shepherd, named Ephialtes, defected to the Persians and informed Xerxes that the separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians
could use to outflank the Greeks, was not as heavily guarded as they thought.
2012 is a 2009 USA action Sci-Fi adventure by Roland Emmerich. Starring John Cusack, Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
North Korea: Banned
The year 2012 coincided with Kim Il Sung's 100th birthday. Authorities in Pyongyang feared that the movie, in which the Earth is obliterated by a series of massive natural disasters,
could jinx this auspicious year and so it was duly banned.
Summary Notes
Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation
from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth's core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world's population, the
entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world's leaders race to build "arks" to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic
eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.
A Ma Soeur! is a 2001 French/Italian/Spanish drama by With Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida and Libero De Rienzo.
Passed 18 uncut by the BBFC for cinema but was cut for DVD. Uncut and MPAA
Unrated in the US. Banned by the Canadian province of Ontario from 2001 until 2003.
Canada: Unbanned in Ontario in 2003
After the retirement of the veteran film censor Robert Warren, the board agreed to have Fat Girl
resubmitted and approved for screening unedited. The board no longer wished to get into a constitutional fight over the powers of the board.
Canada: Banned in Ontario in 2001
The Ontario Film Review Board rejected the
film for distribution under the provincial Theatres Act that prohibits the depiction of sex-related nudity involving someone who is underaged or appears to be underaged.
The film was shown uncensored in other Canadian provinces.
The distributors
then initiated a legal action against Ontario contending that the ban was unconstitutional. The distributors contended that: the power to ban movies is an unjustifiable infringement of the fundamental right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Abominable is a 2019 China / USA children's cartoon comedy by Jill
Culton and Todd Wilderman (co-director). Starring Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai and Tenzing Norgay Trainor.
Banned in Vietnam, cut in Malaysia, and boycotted in the Philippines.
The new animated children's movie Abominable, a co-production between the American studio DreamWorks and the Chinese company Pearl Studio, seems innocent enough. A Chinese girl finds a yeti, a mythical creature also known as the Abominable Snowman.
But in Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, the abomination in the movie is not the yeti but an image of a map of the South China Sea. And on that map, there's a U-shaped dotted line that encompasses almost the entire South China Sea. It's known as
the Nine-Dash Line.
Under international agreements, China does not have exclusive rights to the entire South China Sea. But Beijing has just simply ignored that and called it an illegitimate ruling. Now at every opportunity China presents its claims
as fact.
This claim is not OK with other countries in the region.
Vietnam: Banned in October 2019
The image of the map caused Vietnam to remove the movie from theaters
Malaysia: Withdrawn in
October 2019
Malaysia's film censor has ordered the China map to be cut However the film's producers Universal declined to implement censor cuts to a scene showing China's nine-dash line claim to the South China Sea.
Philippines:
Banned in October 2019
The animated film has been removed from Philippine theaters since Tuesday, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board said in a statement.
MTRCB understands the situation brought about by the movie
'Abominable.' We wish to assure the public that the said movie is already off the Philippine market effective October 15, 2019, said MTRCB Chair Rachel Arenas.
Summary Notes
Three teenagers must help
a Yeti return to his family while avoiding a wealthy man and a zoologist who want it for their own needs.
The Adventure of a Married Couple is a 2013 Iran family drama short by Keywan Karimi. Starring Bamdad Afshar, Mohammad Akhari and Anahita Iravani. Iran: Banned in February 2016 with the filmmaker being
jailed
Keywan Karimi was jailed for 1 year (reduced from 3 years on appeal) with 233 lashes. The authorities felt that his movies depicting grim daily lives in Iran 'insulted sanctities".
Summary Notes
Couples who are living together both work to make their ends meet. The man works night shifts from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and the woman works during the day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. they have to work all week even on weekends and whenever one
of them comes home the other should get ready to leave home.
Among the Believers is a
2015 Pakistan / USA war biography by Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi. Starring Fedor Alexandrovich.
Pakistan: Banned from Face film festival in April 2016
The film censors claimed the film was unsuitable for public exhibition because:
It contains dialogues, which project a negative image of Pakistan in the context of fighting the ongoing war against extremism and
terrorism.
Summary Notes
Controversial Pakistani cleric Maulana Aziz, linked to the Taliban, declares jihad against the government to impose sharia law. The government retaliates by
destroying his seminary, killing his mother, brother, his only son and 150 students. The film follows charming yet menacing Maulana Aziz on his personal quest to create an Islamic utopia, which causes the country to implode. The Red Mosque has students
allied with ISIL, and strong ties to the Taliban. We meet two Red Mosque students whose paths diverge: Talha, 12, leaves his moderate Muslim family to study to be a jihadi preacher. Zarina, also 12, escapes her madrassa and joins a normal school. Her
education is threatened by frequent Taliban attacks on schools like her own. In December, 2014, the Taliban massacred 132 schoolchildren in Peshawar, outraging Pakistan's moderate majority. Aziz's longtime opponent, education reformer Pervez Hoodbhoy
joins the re-energized anti-extremist movement. Throughout the film, he passionately ...
v Annabelle 2
- 2017 USA horror mystery thriller by David F Sandberg.
Annabelle 2 is a 2017 USA horror mystery thriller by David F Sandberg. Starring Miranda Otto, Philippa Coulthard and Stephanie Sigman. Lebanon: Banned in August 2017
The movie
was reportedly screened for the General Security's Censorship Bureau earlier in the month and then was passed on to the censorship committee. Annahar reported that Catholic Priests Fr. Abdu Abu Kasm and Fr. Athanasius Shahwan were both present at the
censorship committee's screening. Father Shahwan had the final word and he demanded that the film be blocked over scenes that are considered offensive to Christian faith.
The specific scenes in question were not mentioned but many believe the
objection comes from the fact that nuns are the ones being victimized in the movie's plot.
Summary Notes
Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a
nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker's possessed creation, Annabelle.
v Antichrist
- 2009 Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland drama by Lars Von Trier.
Antichrist is a 2009 Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland drama by Lars Von Trier. With Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm.
France: Banned in February 2016
Promouvoir, an extremist Catholic pressure group initiated a court case some time ago claiming that the films local 16 rating was incorrect and that the film should be
restricted to adults only. The moralists won the case and the court agreed that the film is unsuitable for under 18 and revoked the film's 16 certificate.
Until the film can be re-rated, it is banned from cinema and TV
The BBFC
explained some of the censorship issues when issuing an uncut 18 rating:
At '18', the BBFC's Guidelines state that the more explicit images of sexual activity are unlikely to be permitted unless they can be exceptionally
justified by context and the work is not a 'sex work'. A 'sex work' is defined as a work whose 'primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation'. It is clear that ANTICHRIST is not a 'sex work' but a serious drama exploring issues such as grief, loss,
guilt and fear.
The brief images of explicit real sex (sight of a penis penetrating a vagina during a consensual sex scene and sight of the man's penis being masturbated to climax) are exceptionally justified, in this
context, by the manner in which they illustrate the film's themes and the nature of the couple's relationship. Their relationship is depicted throughout in a graphic and unflinching fashion, both psychologically and physically.
The BBFC has permitted comparable explicit images in a number of previous features at the '18' level (eg L'EMPIRE DES SENS, 9 SONGS, SHORTBUS and Lars von Trier's earlier film, THE IDIOTS) where it has been clear that the purpose of
the work - and the individual images in question - is not simply to arouse viewers but to illustrate characters, relationships and themes.
Note that the hardcore shots are inserted into the sex scenes and are attributed to body
doubles Horst Stramka and Mandy Starship.
Availability
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex, bloody violence and self-mutilation for:
2014 Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014 Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] R2 DVD at UK
Amazon
The film featured an errant monk, a commonplace issue in Thailand, and so the censors decided that the depiction of errant monks somehow threaten buddhism. The film was initially banned because it
might create unnecessary conflicts in society if the committee had let it pass.
The film censors later passed the film 18+ after scenes showing errant behaviour by the monk were cut.
News, September 2016: Oscars
The Buddhist-themed horror film Arpat has been renamed to
Apatti and has now been submitted as Thailand's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at next year's Oscars, the committee of the Federation of Thai Film Associations has announced.
v The Attack - 2012
Lebanon/France/Qatar/Belgium drama by Ziad Doueiri.
The Attack is a 2012 Lebanon/France/Qatar/Belgium drama by Ziad Doueiri.
With Ali Suliman, Evgenia Dodena, Reymond Amsalem.
Lebanon: Banned in 2013
Banned because its Lebanese director shot part of the movie in Israel and used Israeli actors.
Director Ziad Doueiri explained the ban on his Facebook page:
I regret to inform you that the interior minister of Lebanon, Minister Charbel, has decided to punish us and the film by banning it. The reason for the rejection is that I, Ziad Doueiri, had spent time in Israel filming.
The Ministry [of Culture said it had nothing against the film, but that it wasn't 'Lebanese enough.' They also said they could not have a film with Israeli actors represent Lebanon at the Oscars. I knew from the start it was a lost
cause.
All this does in the end is portray Lebanon in a negative light, and tell us, filmmakers, that we if think outside of the box, we 'll be considered pariahs and outlaws.
Summary Review: Aftermath of a Suicide Attack
An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing. Based on a novel by Yasmina Khadra.
The Attack won the Special Jury Award at the
2012 San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain and the Golden Star at Morocco's Marrakesh Film Festival.
