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23/04/2007
No homosexual movie to be shown at Singapore film festival
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From Pravda
Sex scenes showing the homosexual relationships between teacher and his 18-years-old student became the reason to remove movie from a local Singaporean film festival after government censors said sex scenes from the film had to be cut.
Organizers of the Singapore International Film Festival and producers of "Solos" said Monday the film would be withdrawn from public screening in line with the festival's policy of only showing uncensored films.
The festival opened April 18 and runs through April 30. "Solos" was originally scheduled to be screened on Wednesday.
The film received an R21 rating - which restricts it to audiences over age 21 - with three cuts from the Singapore Board of Film Censors, said Florence Ang, the film's producer.
The board said in a statement that the film contained "prolonged and explicit homosexual lovemaking scenes including scenes of oral sex and threesome sex" which had to be removed.
The cuts make up about five minutes of the 77-minute film, Ang said.
She said the filmmakers had not expected the censors to demand the cuts as the 20-year-old festival, which is seen as catering to a niche and relatively limited audience, has previously screened movies she said were more graphic.
"I was actually prepared that we may have had cuts if we wanted to organize a commercial screening, but I didn't expect that for the festival itself," Ang said.
Sex between homosexual men, even among consenting adults, is defined in Singapore as "an act of gross indecency" punishable by a maximum of two years in jail. There have been few prosecutions, however.
"Solos" will be screened without edits to a private jury for the festival's Silver Screen awards, which honors Asian works, Ang said, adding she will appeal to the board of censors to reduce the number of cuts for a possible commercial screening later in the year.
Another film that was withdrawn from the festival was "Princess," an animated feature by Danish director Anders Morgenthaler about a priest on a crusade against those who abused his sister, who was a porn star before her death. Censors said a scene which depicts "a porn star in a nun's habit, with a cross protruding from her behind" had to go because it was religiously offensive.
Singapore has in recent years relaxed some censorship regulations for films and plays in an effort to market itself as a media and arts center. But controls on media and filmmakers, on the whole, remain tight.
Authorities two weeks ago banned a documentary about the 17-year detention of a former left-wing activist in Singapore because its "distorted and misleading" portrayal of the events could undermine confidence in the government.
A man (Lim Yu Beng) and a boy (Loo Zihan) struggle with their mutual sexual desire, all the more because it seems to be a transgression, an anomaly compared to the banal normality of the domestic family unit they try to fit into and live in. The boy's mother (Goh Guat Kian) festers in her own depression and rage. NTU student Loo Zihan who stars in Solos, also co-wrote and co-directed the film. Kan Lume's (The Art Of Flirting, SIFF 2006) second effort with Loo Zihan is a daring, adventurous film.
Director: Kan Lume/ Loo Zihan
Country: Singapore
Duration: 77min
Year: 2006
Rating: TBA
10:45 Posted by soci in Freedom of expression | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this | Tags: Singapore, Censorship, Media
Comments
The government of Singapore shows its patently neurotic side yet again with their homophobia. Jesus F. Christ, wot an embarrassment...
If a coupla boys wanna shag each other, what the heck is wrong with that—if the activity is mutually agreed upon by all? Whose darn business is it anyway what adults do with their lives, as long as it is peaceful?
> The board said in a statement that the film contained "prolonged and explicit homosexual lovemaking scenes including scenes of oral sex and threesome sex" <
Perhaps the film maker was injecting a sense of "realism" into his creation. What the heck is wrong with "prolonged" copulation? The people on the board of censors must be premature ejaculators, and quite very well be jealous! To them I offer some advice: Guys, stop wanking (if you can)—you'll last longer!
Meanwhile here in Thailand:
http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/23/headlines/headlines_30032485.php
How about that for empathy and accepting the UNIVERSALITY of rights?—i.e. regardless of race, religion...or sexuality. Mental note: The Singapore pledge ought to be re-written to include our LGBT brotha's and sista's.
I like, nay, absolutely love chicks, BTW. I reckon it is my inner lesbian which dictates my preferences...
You go girl!
Posted by: Matilah_Singapura | 23/04/2007
Anyway, I'm against all kind of censorship and for having lived in Singapore since a year, I could have notice this happen all the time. Censorship goes so far than even harmless TV series like Desperate Housewives or Little Britain, kinda comedy/drama shows are widely cut. But, thou, I've seen the movie Solos, and i can tell that due to his poor drama quality, it's not a loss that they won't show it at the festival
Posted by: Julien | 21/05/2007
Censorship gives the movie pirates a "free kick". In fact EVERYTIME the state PROHIBITS something, the "bad guys" get a free kick.
Here's an extreme example to illustrate that prohibition doesn't work:
Murder, theft and fraud (morally speaking very bad things) are prohibited by laws of the state. Yet they still occur. And the people who do them tend to be "hardcore" — folks who normal peace-loving humans would have little to do with, for obvious reasons.
So we have a justice system and the police to deal with the people who would dare to commit these activities which affect hapless VICTIMS.
The state also prohibits (illegal) gambling, drugs and pornography. So what happens? "Hardcore" profit-seekers recognise a demand and then engage in activities to "service the customer". The only "victims" here are the people who, by using their FREEWILL decide that they will wilfully engage in illegal gaming, drug taking and vicarious sexual enjoyment by viewing porno (a delightful activity for many people, including some of the readers of this blog).
By criminalising these "victimless crimes", the state actually makes more criminals — criminals out of harmless, peaceful people who enjoy activities shunned by most in the "mainstream".
So where do you get porno DVDs/VCDs in S'pore (apart from internet downloads)? I mean the high quality stuff... from your friendly community pirate of course. This from of adult entertainment is BIG BUSINESS in places like the US, Aust and Europe, and it is legal. By ENCOURAGING PIRACY governments like the turkeys in S'pore are aiding the THEFT of legitimate revenue to these vibrant entertainment companies and talented actors.
S'pore has an FTA with the US. If the porno companies lobby the US Trade Rep hard enough, they might be able to FORCE, by way of the FTA, S'pore to ALLOW legitimate copies to be sold within the city state. And if the US Trade Rep plays hard-ball, the FTA could be "modified" to "punish" S'pore.
Apart from attaining a victory against intellectual property (yes, porno is intellectual property — an irony for sure!) theft, the egg on the face of the government would be PRICELESS.
It would serve them right for being such anal-retentive control freaks, and this won't only be perfectly legal, but it would be holding up a GOOD law — private property rights.
Posted by: Matilah_SIngapura | 23/05/2007
How did u get the movie?
Posted by: Lol | 12/10/2007