Singapore director of LGBTQ-themed film #LookAtMe ‘disappointed’ over screening ban
- Singapore’s media regulator says the film ‘denigrates a religious community’ and has the ‘potential to cause enmity and social division’
- Director Ken Kwek says his team will appeal the decision to effectively ban the movie, which centres around a protagonist who acts out against a pastor’s LGBTQ stance
Singapore’s media regulator had on Monday said the film – directed by Singaporean author and screenwriter Ken Kwek – “denigrates a religious community” and had the “potential to cause enmity and social division” in the multi-religious country.
The film was refused classification by the authorities, meaning it is effectively banned as it cannot be legally sold, rented, possessed, imported or made public.
Premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival in July, the film revolves around a protagonist who takes offence to a pastor’s stance on homosexuality.
He then makes a social media post about the male pastor which goes viral, landing him a jail sentence for violating Singapore’s laws. The protagonist later considers plotting revenge against the religious leader, who is played by veteran Singapore actor Adrian Pang.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said various descriptions of the pastor, including a similar sounding title, were suggestive of a real pastor in Singapore.
“Persons in Singapore may draw that connection,” it said in a joint statement with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. “The context may be seen to be suggesting or encouraging violence against the pastor.”
