Banned Films in Singapore

#LookAtMe is a 2022 Singapore gay themed drama by Ken Kwek
Starring Yao, Yao and Pam Oei

A Youtuber posts an irreverent video trolling a megachurch pastor, in defence of his gay twin brother. He is vilified by society, tried in court, and pitted against a culture that threatens to destroy his family.

Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) has retained banned film #LookAtMe in its official selection, despite the fact it cannot be screened in the country.

Directed by Singapore filmmaker Ken Kwek, the film was handed a local exhibition ban last week on the grounds that it supposedly denigrates a religious community and has the potential to cause enmity and social division in Singapore's multi-racial and multi-cultural society, according to a joint statement by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

Produced by Eko Pictures, the feature received its world premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) in July where it proved one of the buzz titles of the event and received a special mention for the performance of Malaysian-born, US-based actor Yao (aka Thomas Pang) who plays the dual role of twin brothers.

The film's production team had previously planned to submit an appeal in a bid to overturn the ban. But after learning more about the IMDA appeals process, which includes a $355 (S$500) fee, they chose not to challenge the decision.

The film's festival run continues and it is scheduled to screen at upcoming festivals in the US, Australia and Thailand.

Singapore film censors have banned a documentary about Palestine from screening at film festivals.

Government censors at the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) claimed that the film has a skewed narrative which could cause disharmony in Simgapore.

The 2016 film, Radiance of Resistance, tells the story of Ahed al-Tamimi, then 14, and her 9-year-old friend Janna Ayyad, often called the youngest journalist in Palestine. The pair join protests in Palestine against heavily armed Israeli soldiers.

The one-hour documentary, directed by Jesse Roberts, an American humanitarian and filmmaker, was scheduled to be screened at the Singapore Palestinian Film Festival 2018 on Thursday.

But on Tuesday, the IMDA cancelled the screening, saying that the documentary explores the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the eyes of the two young protagonists, without a counterbalance. The censors said in a statement:

The skewed narrative of the film is inflammatory and has the potential to cause disharmony amongst the different races and religions in Singapore.

The film was rated as  'not allowed for all ratings (NAR)'.

Adela Foo, the festival's organiser, told local journalists that she was disappointed, but wouldn't appeal the IMDA's decision given time constraints.

An Israeli military court charged Ahed al-Tamimi, the film's main subject, with assault, for slapping an Israeli soldier. Since her arrest, politicians, royals, and celebrities have spoken out for Ahed, now 16. Her father has said that his daughter's actions caught on video happened after Israeli soldiers shot her 14-year-old cousin, Mohammed al-Tamimi, with a rubber bullet in his face.

On 2 October 2014, filmmaker Tan Pin Pin re-submitted her film, To Singapore, With Love , for classification with the film censors at the Media Development Authority (MDA).

The MDA had originally rated her film NAR : Not Allowed for All Rating . This means the film is not allowed to be screened in public or be distributed. The MDA later said the film is allowed to be screened in private and to college students.

Since Ms Tan re-submitted the film for rating, however, several ministers and government departments have castigated the film, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He said the accounts given in the film by the former members of the Communist Party of Malaya were self-serving and were conveniently inaccurate in places, glossing over facts in others.

The Minister for Communications and Information, Yaacob Ibrahim, also criticised the film. He told Parliament on 7 October that the film's one-sided portrayals are designed to evoke feelings of sympathy and support for individuals who in reality chose to leave Singapore and remain in self-exile.

And the Government's latest response, the press secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister said allowing the film to be screened in public would be like allowing jihadi terrorist groups today to produce and publicly screen films that glorify their jihadist cause.

It certainly doesn't look good for film makers hoping to overturn the ban!