Daniel Hui’s ‘Small Hours Of The Night’ Screening Pulled From Singapore Film Festival After Classification Refusal

Daniel Hui’s Small Hours of the Night screening has been removed from the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), after the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore refused classification for the film.

However, SGIFF will still credit Small Hours of the Night and the filmmaker as part of the festival’s Official Selection. This is the festival’s policy for films which have been denied classification by IMDA. Hui will also feature in several SGIFF events as a panel speaker.

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In the festival’s program announcement last week, Small Hours of the Night was slated to make its Singapore premiere in the Undercurrents section.

As every film requires a rating classification to be screened in Singapore, this means that the film is banned from all public screenings.

In the past, SGIFF selections Ken Kwek’s LookAtMe and João Pedro Rodrigues’ Will-o’-the-Wisp were also denied classification by IMDA and could not be publicly screened, but both films remained part of the festival’s official lineup on the record.

The festival said that Hui will continue to participate in several SGIFF events as a speaker, including an Industry Days panel titled “Cinematic Identities and Authorship in Hybrid Forms,” where he will speak about his creative process.

He will also feature as a speaker in the third edition of the festival’s Forum session, “Mildly Offensive, Sometimes Accurate,” which focuses on Singapore’s local filmmaking ecosystem.

“As the longest-running film event in Singapore, SGIFF is committed to showcasing a wide range of perspectives and the vibrant cinematic culture in Singapore, Asia and the world,” said Thong Kay Wee, SGIFF’s Programme Director.

“We continue to champion homegrown talents, and stand by filmmakers and filmmaking as an important art form to spark reflection and encourage dialogue within society. Small Hours of the Night is a 2020 Tan Ean Kiam Foundation-SGIFF SEA-DOC grant recipient, and made by an award-winning Singaporean director, Daniel Hui. While the film cannot be screened, we will continue to provide its creators with a platform for their voices to be heard.”

Small Hours of the Night is set in late-1960s Singapore, just shortly after the country became independent. In a dark room, a woman is trapped and is interrogated by a man. The film draws from a real 1980s court case involving Tan Chay Wa’s tombstone.

Small Hours of the Night made its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam earlier this year and its North American premiere at Doc Fortnight MoMA.

IMDA’s explanation for its decision can be found on its Media Classification Database, which stated: “Small Hours of the Night is a film that revolves around discourses about the impact of Singapore’s judiciary on personal lives. Set in a room, it features a person being interrogated on various issues with references to past judicial cases. The film has been refused classification.

“In consultation with the Ministry of Law and the Attorney-General’s Chambers, IMDA has assessed the film to have content that is potentially contrary to the law, i.e. illegal. It would be likely to be prejudicial to national interests to approve it for screening.

“Under the Film Classification Guidelines, ‘any material that undermines or is likely to undermine public order, or is likely to be prejudicial to national interest’ will be refused classification.”

Hui, the film’s writer-director, said: “As the director of this film, the irony does not escape me that a film about censorship is itself being censored. I am of course very disappointed that people all around the world can see this film, but not in Singapore. However, I remain hopeful that one day, we will have a discursive space in Singapore that is gracious and generous enough to include diverse voices and points of view.”

Small Hours of the Night was produced by Tan Bee Thiam and Hui, with cinematography by Looi Wan Ping. It was produced by 13 Little Pictures with the support of Purin Pictures and White Light Studios.

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