A reel step forward

Are Singapore’s film classifiers getting soft? Sabrina Lee gets the uncut version on movie censorship from three local directors

Local independent filmmaker Ken Kwek knows how it feels to be subjected to censorship. After submitting his 2003 documentary The Ballad of Vicki and Jake – which he made with American director Ian Thomas Ash – to the Media Development Authority, a four-minute scene showing the leads smoking a crack pipe didn’t make the final version. Yet as recently as January, big-budget films like American Gangster (or last year’s Protégé) went uncut with an M18 rating, and featured scenes of shooting up, Kwek says. 

So are Singaporean classifiers becoming more liberal? There’s certainly more scope for accurate classification nowadays; back in 1991, the Board of Film Censors (BFC) only used the PG and R(A) ratings. Now, the ratings system has widened to include G, PG, NC16, M18 and R21. TOS decided to approach three very different local directors to go behind the scenes of slicing, dicing and moviemaking. 

Dressed casually in a polo shirt and jeans, award-winning filmmaker Eric Khoo seems calm and confident. No stranger to censorship, Khoo remembers one of his first short films, 1994’s ‘Pain’ – about a sado-masochist who mutilates his body by extinguishing cigarettes on his skin – being banned from public exhibition. It was, however, allowed to compete in the Singapore International Film Festival, and even won him Best Director and Special Achievement awards. Khoo used the sponsorship prize money he received to make his first full-length feature, the groundbreaking Mee Pok Man (1995), which showed the seedier side of Singapore. Fans of Khoo are familiar with his gritty portrayal of everyday locals in not-so-favourable situations, yet his films rarely face the chop. ‘The only beef I have is that Mee Pok Man should have received an M18 instead of R21 rating,’ he says. ‘If a boy is young enough to hold a rifle, he should be old enough to watch the film.’ 

Despite the edginess of his handiwork, Khoo doesn’t feel restricted by local rules and regulations. ‘Natural Born Killers was banned in England [in fact, its release was delayed], but was uncut and screened here with an R(A) rating [at that time, the M18 equivalent].’ Khoo’s next venture will tell the story of Rose Chan, a famous stripper in 1950s Malaysia and Singapore – without leaving much to the imagination. ‘When she stripped, she always [went] full frontal…I think the film would probably make an R21 rating. Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution had two versions: an NC16 [edited version] and R21, which was not cut at all.’ After more than ten years inthe business, Khoo notes that Singapore has slowly but surely loosened its grip, but there are still topics he won’t touch. ‘Times are definitely changing. However, there are still certain subjects that remain taboo, like those that have to do with religious themes and drug use. Neither of those subjects interest me.’ 

Khoo is not alone: the cardinal sins of filmmaking in Singapore are the ‘propagating of religion’, ‘denigrating any race or religions’ and ‘scenes depicting or promoting drug abuse’, among other themes related to violence, sex and nudity, according to MDA guidelines. Some directors choose to push boundaries in less subversive ways altogether. Comedian and director Jack Neo is known for his trademark political satire. In his 2003 feature Homerun, he references the Malaysia-Singapore water confl ict through an argument between a Singaporean and Malaysian boy. ‘I tell the truth in a humorous way, which makes it easier to digest,’ Neo says. ‘It’s not entirely true that there is no freedom of speech in Singapore. But at the same time, I find it quite amazing how I don’t run into any problems with the Government. I’m just telling the truth – whatever’s in my films is in the newspapers.’ He also credits his films’ commercial success with his ability to understand what the people want. However, some argue that his attempts aren’t pointed enough to raise any serious concerns among the ruling elite – unlike Martyn See’s 26-minute documentary ‘Singapore Rebel’ (2004), which was pulled from the Singapore International Film Festival after the organisers deemed it a ‘party political film’ due to its portrayal of Opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan. 

Light political commentary and nudity may be approved, but what about issues of sexuality? Rising filmmaker Lim May Ling has not had any run-ins with the censors (yet). The 27-year-old’s 65-minute documentary Women Who Love Women: Conversations in Singapore screened privately at MOX Bar & Café on Tanjong Pagar over several months. ‘We had to send out invitations and people had to RSVP before they attended the screening,’ she says. Because it wasn’t screened commercially, the film did not have to be reviewed by censors. Instead, they faced red tape and limitations when it came to funding, she says. The film’s producer, Ngiam Su-Lin, had to write up proposals and send them out to potential sponsors. ‘In the end, the investors were mainly people we knew who also believed in the project,’ Lim says. 

But the biggest challenge, according to Lim, was to free herself from the trappings of a conservative society and be brave enough to make a film she felt should have been made a long time ago. We asked Lim when she thought Singapore would have its fi rst commercial gay- and lesbian-themed festival. ‘Not just yet,’ she replied, ‘but I hope to see one by the time I hit 30.’ 

In the end, she didn’t have to wait that long; a month later (in January), the Love & Pride Festival was held at Golden Village VivoCity, showcasing movies like Brokeback Mountain, My Summer of Love and Spider Lilies. Although not widely publicised, the festival came as a surprise, and not just to Lim; it also enforces that the wheels are turning. Lim is even planning a more experimental film for her next outing, with details forthcoming. ‘I feel that the right time and moment is now.’