Appeal to lift ban on 'To Singapore, with Love' rejected by FAC
[STORY UPDATED 12/11/2014 at 6 PM: Ban against "To Singapore, with Love" upheld by FAC]
An appeal from the director of "To Singapore, with Love" to lift a ban on the film has been rejected by the Films Appeal Committee (FAC).
In a media statement on Wednesday, the FAC announced its decision to uphold the Media Development Authority's ban on the controversial film.
"The Films Appeal Committee (FAC) has heard the appeal lodged by the film director, Tan Pin Pin, against the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) decision to classify the film “To Singapore, With Love” (TSWL) as “Not Allowed for All Ratings”. Having considered the director’s representations, as well as the views of the MDA and relevant government agencies, the FAC has upheld MDA’s NAR classification for TSWL," it read.
The director, Tan Pin Pin, had earlier appealed against MDA's decision to ban the movie because of its allegedly "distorted and untruthful" account of Singapore's political exiles.
In a Facebook post Tan said she has resubmitted the documentary unchanged to the Film Appeals Committee of the Media Development Authority.
"As we approach our 50th birthday, I feel that we as a people should be able to view and weigh for ourselves, through legitimate public screenings in Singapore, differing views about our past, even views that the government disagrees with," she said.
She expressed hope that the appeals committee would review the classification in that light.
The 70-minute film features interviews with nine former activists who fled Singapore from the 1960s to the 1980s and settled overseas.
The MDA banned the film on 10 September, saying it undermined national security by showing legitimate actions of security agencies in a distorted way.
The decision of the agency drew criticism from the local arts community. A day after, a group of 39 artists, including prominent Singaporean filmmakers such as Anthony Chen and Royston Tan, issued a statement urging regulators to reconsider its decision.
The controversy over the film, however, has raised public interest. On 19 September, hundreds of Singaporeans went to the nearby city of Johor Bahru in Malaysia to watch the screening of the documentary.
