I received word today that my film The Look-East Project AKA Pandang Ke Timur has been given an 18PL rating by the uncles and aunties at the Censorship Board. Apparently the film is too political. I’m dumbfounded as to how a simple love story between my cute, sweet girlfriend and I can be considered too political. Read the synopsis and view the video blogs here and judge for yourself.

The 18PL rating means that the film can only be aired on TV after 10:30pm. That means it can’t be shown on the scheduled 3rd March, 8:30pm FESTIVAL slot. But the wonderful and supportive producers at ntv7 have agreed to reschedule my film to another more appropriate time (non-prime time goddammit!). I will keep you guys updated.

Reactions from filmmaker friends when I told them the news:

“Haiya! Post on Malaysian Cinema. Some NGO chick will get turned on!” –Amir Muhammad (The Last Communist, Apa Khabar Orang Kampung)

“Unta!” –Azharr Rudin (The Amber Sexalogy, Benda Aneh Bernama Cinta)

“You are one step closer to your dream of being Amir!” –James Lee (The Beautiful Washing Machine, Before We Fall In Love Again)

“Shit! If your stupid film gets an 18PL rating, what’s going to happen to my upcoming film??” – Liew Seng Tat (3-time MVA Best Short Film Award winner)