Photo: Tan Pin Pin with her Best Director award at the Dubai International Film Festival; 'To Singapore, With Love' Facebook
Local filmmaker Tan Pin Pin is disappointed by the Media Development Authority's (MDA) decision to ban To Singapore, With Love, a production about real life people that've been exiled from the city-state.
In a statement released on Facebook just after the ban was announced, Tan wrote, "I am very disappointed by the MDA decision to ban it -- for myself, and also what it means for Singapore."
She also explained how she ended up focusing on this group of people for the film ("organically", after stumbling upon Escape from the Lion's Paw, a book of first-person accounts, and then interviewing one of the characters in Malaysia), saying that what she wanted to convey were the sentiments they had about their 'home country', not the circumstances of their exile.
According to the MDA, To Singapore, With Love was classified as "Not Allowed for Ratings" (NAR) because its content "distorted the rationale behind rightful clauses of security agencies meant to protect the nation's security and stability".
Tan said in her statement that by doing this, the MDA "is taking away an opportunity for us Singaporeans (to) see it and have a conversation about it and our past that this film could have started or contributed to. It is vital for us to have that conversation on our own terms, especially on the eve of our 50th birthday. We need to be trusted to be able to find the answers about ourselves, for ourselves."
Tan also expressed she found it ironic that a film about Singapore exiles was experiencing the same fate as its cast, and revealed she may resubmit To Singapore, With Love for a rating in future.
Read Also: Tan Pin Pin's film banned for undermining national security
Photo: Tan Pin Pin with her Best Director award at the Dubai International Film Festival; 'To Singapore, With Love' Facebook
Local filmmaker Tan Pin Pin is disappointed by the Media Development Authority's (MDA) decision to ban To Singapore, With Love, a production about real life people that've been exiled from the city-state.
In a statement released on Facebook just after the ban was announced, Tan wrote, "I am very disappointed by the MDA decision to ban it -- for myself, and also what it means for Singapore."
She also explained how she ended up focusing on this group of people for the film ("organically", after stumbling upon Escape from the Lion's Paw, a book of first-person accounts, and then interviewing one of the characters in Malaysia), saying that what she wanted to convey were the sentiments they had about their 'home country', not the circumstances of their exile.
According to the MDA, To Singapore, With Love was classified as "Not Allowed for Ratings" (NAR) because its content "distorted the rationale behind rightful clauses of security agencies meant to protect the nation's security and stability".
Tan said in her statement that by doing this, the MDA "is taking away an opportunity for us Singaporeans (to) see it and have a conversation about it and our past that this film could have started or contributed to. It is vital for us to have that conversation on our own terms, especially on the eve of our 50th birthday. We need to be trusted to be able to find the answers about ourselves, for ourselves."
Tan also expressed she found it ironic that a film about Singapore exiles was experiencing the same fate as its cast, and revealed she may resubmit To Singapore, With Love for a rating in future.
Read Also: Tan Pin Pin's film banned for undermining national security