After the banning of homemade film ‘To Singapore, with Love’, prominent members of the local arts community have petitioned the Media Development Authority to reconsider its decision. The group, which includes filmmakers Royston Tan and Boo Junfeng amongst its ranks, released a statement to convey its ‘deep disappointment’ at the ruling, and said that this decision to ban the movie will “only reinforce the view that our government is trying to limit discussion around our very own history”. The film was banned on the grounds that its subject matter, which tells the personal stories of political exiles as they pay tribute to the Republic, “undermine(s) 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”.
