It's almost unbelievable but we just got good news from the Thai film censor board (no, nothing to do with the police's brilliant initiative to tap the Line app, which sent a wave of terror through smartphone-addicted teenagers around the country).
The board has permitted the screening of a Thai documentary made to, err, mock and expose the labyrinthine and mostly insensible workings of the censor board itself.
The documentary film Censor Must Die was made by Ing K and Manit Sriwanichpoom in response to the Film Censorship Committee and the National Film Board banning their feature film Shakespeare Must Die last year. In the documentary, the two chronicle their exhausting and soul-crushing trips to lodge an appeal, to various human rights agencies to raise their case, and finally to the Administrative Court where they filed a lawsuit against the censors.
It charts a personal crusade and happens to be the first film made about how censorship works (or doesn't work) in Thailand.
So in a feat of irony, Shakespeare Must Die will not be seen (at least not now) but Censor Must Die has been cleared for viewers of all ages. The filmmakers will soon announce where they'll screen it.
The reason that Censor Must Die cruised past the iron claws is also intriguing.
According to a statement from the filmmakers: "As required by law, this new film was submitted to the censors. We received a letter by post from the Ministry of Culture's Department of Cultural Promotion to inform us of the result of their deliberation: Censor Must Die is exempt from the film censorship process and has been given permission because the film [was made] from events that really happened. Furthermore, due to this exemption from censorship, Censor Must Die has not been rated and may be seen by anyone of any age."
This could be a historic ruling since it can be interpreted that from now on, any documentary film made from "events that really happened" are not subjected to the censorship process.
In the case of Shakespeare Must Die, both the National Human Rights Commission and the Senate House Human Rights Committee concluded that the ban is against the spirit of the constitution and the 2008 film law should be amended. The NHRC further recommended that the ban on the film should be lifted. The case against the censors and the Film Board is still before the Administrative Court.
