Rethink urged as Singapore bans documentary about political exiles
Censors’ decision on documentary about people who fled the nation from the 1960s to the 1980s draws calls from artists and activists for U-turn
Agence France-Presse 12 September 2014
Leading Singaporean artists and activists urged the government yesterday to allow the exhibition of a documentary about the city-state’s political exiles to go ahead.
They expressed “deep disappointment” at the Media Development Authority’s decision to ban the public showing of local film director Tan Pin Pin’s To Singapore, With Love on grounds of national security.
“We would like to emphasise that censorship does nothing to promote a vibrant, informed society. We thus urge the MDA to reconsider its decision,” said a statement signed by 39 artists and activists. They include film director Anthony Chen, who is a winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Camera d’Or prize, as well as theatre directors Ivan Heng, T. Sasitharan and Ong Keng Sen, all winners of the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s top state award for artists.
The MDA, Singapore’s media regulator, on Wednesday banned the 70-minute documentary, saying it was a “distorted, untruthful” account of nine former political activists and student leaders who had fled Singapore from the 1960s to the 1980s and currently live in Britain, Thailand and Malaysia.
MDA said the film’s contents undermined national security “because legitimate actions of the security agencies to protect the national security and stability of Singapore are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals”.
It said a number of the exiles were former members of the Communist Party of Malaya, which had sought to overthrow governments in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1950s and 1960s.
The film, made from interviews with the exiles, was classified as “not allowed for all ratings”, meaning it cannot be publicly screened or distributed in Singapore.
A description on the film’s website said the documentary explores how the exiles “lived their lives away and how they still view the Singapore of their dreams”.
“They are now in their 60s to 80s. Some were activists, student leaders; others were card-carrying communists,” it said.
In their statement, the Singaporean artists suggested that rather than banning the documentary, authorities should “release their version of the events in question, so that viewers can make up their own minds”.
“Banning the film will only reinforce the view that our government is trying to limit discussion around our very own history,” they said, adding that the documentary had been screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and had won “multiple awards all over the world”.
“It has received high praise from filmmakers, critics and festival programmers. Many commentators have described it as essential viewing for all Singaporeans,” they said.
Tan, the film’s director, is a rising star in Singapore’s tiny but vocal arts community.
She is among seven local directors selected to produce an MDA-funded film to celebrate the nation’s 50th year of independence next year.
“By doing this [banning the film], MDA is taking away an opportunity for us Singaporeans to see it and to have a conversation about it and our past, that this film could have started or contributed to,” Tan said in a posting on the film’s Facebook page.
The wealthy island nation has relaxed strict social controls, including media censorship, in recent years, but continues to impose stringent regulations on films that discuss local politics.
The government previously banned two films about prominent ex-political detainees produced by local filmmaker Martyn See in 2007 and 2010.
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Rethink urged as Singapore bans documentary about political exiles
Censors’ decision on documentary about people who fled the nation from the 1960s to the 1980s draws calls from artists and activists for U-turn
Agence France-Presse
12 September 2014
Leading Singaporean artists and activists urged the government yesterday to allow the exhibition of a documentary about the city-state’s political exiles to go ahead.
They expressed “deep disappointment” at the Media Development Authority’s decision to ban the public showing of local film director Tan Pin Pin’s To Singapore, With Love on grounds of national security.
“We would like to emphasise that censorship does nothing to promote a vibrant, informed society. We thus urge the MDA to reconsider its decision,” said a statement signed by 39 artists and activists. They include film director Anthony Chen, who is a winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Camera d’Or prize, as well as theatre directors Ivan Heng, T. Sasitharan and Ong Keng Sen, all winners of the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s top state award for artists.
The MDA, Singapore’s media regulator, on Wednesday banned the 70-minute documentary, saying it was a “distorted, untruthful” account of nine former political activists and student leaders who had fled Singapore from the 1960s to the 1980s and currently live in Britain, Thailand and Malaysia.
MDA said the film’s contents undermined national security “because legitimate actions of the security agencies to protect the national security and stability of Singapore are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals”.
It said a number of the exiles were former members of the Communist Party of Malaya, which had sought to overthrow governments in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1950s and 1960s.
The film, made from interviews with the exiles, was classified as “not allowed for all ratings”, meaning it cannot be publicly screened or distributed in Singapore.
A description on the film’s website said the documentary explores how the exiles “lived their lives away and how they still view the Singapore of their dreams”.
“They are now in their 60s to 80s. Some were activists, student leaders; others were card-carrying communists,” it said.
In their statement, the Singaporean artists suggested that rather than banning the documentary, authorities should “release their version of the events in question, so that viewers can make up their own minds”.
“Banning the film will only reinforce the view that our government is trying to limit discussion around our very own history,” they said, adding that the documentary had been screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and had won “multiple awards all over the world”.
“It has received high praise from filmmakers, critics and festival programmers. Many commentators have described it as essential viewing for all Singaporeans,” they said.
Tan, the film’s director, is a rising star in Singapore’s tiny but vocal arts community.
She is among seven local directors selected to produce an MDA-funded film to celebrate the nation’s 50th year of independence next year.
“By doing this [banning the film], MDA is taking away an opportunity for us Singaporeans to see it and to have a conversation about it and our past, that this film could have started or contributed to,” Tan said in a posting on the film’s Facebook page.
The wealthy island nation has relaxed strict social controls, including media censorship, in recent years, but continues to impose stringent regulations on films that discuss local politics.
The government previously banned two films about prominent ex-political detainees produced by local filmmaker Martyn See in 2007 and 2010.
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