LSF facing criticism for film poster ban

LSF facing criticism for film poster ban

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Director Rudi Soedjarwo was furious, but nervous at the same
time. The Film Censorship Board (LSF) recently ordered the
withdrawal of the poster for Rudy's upcoming film Sembilan Naga
(Nine Dragons) before it had even been released.

The reasons were baffling: The poster features a caption
reading "Manusia Terbaik di Indonesia adalah Seorang Penjahat"
(The best Indonesian is a criminal), and a picture of young actor
Fauzi Baadila without his shirt.

Rudi said that the withdrawal order meant that no film or VCD
distributor would dare promote or distribute the film.

"That means the only chance to see the film will be in
January, when the film is released. That is, if it passes the
censors at all," he said, adding that the censorship process
would start after Christmas and that he was really nervous.

The whole thing showed how the state was reluctant to let the
people decide for themselves, he said.

"It's like parents who always think of their children as kids.
Why doesn't the LSF just deal with the ratings, instead of
cutting the films, and then leave it up to the cinemas and TV
stations to sort things out for themselves," said Rudi, who won
the best director award at the 2004 Indonesian Film Festival
(FFI) for teen hit Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up With Cinta?).

Rudi's case once again places the state censorship board in
the spotlight, worsening its already notorious reputation as
being ultraconservative while at the same time capricious.

Dating back to Dutch East Indies days, the LSF now has 45
members comprising representatives from nine ministries,
religious organizations, the military, the police and the
National Intelligence Agency. Every film shown on TV and played
in a cinema must pass the board's scrutiny.

The LSF frequently cuts scenes containing even a peck on the
lips. But there are no clear standards, and some films containing
kissing scenes, such as Ada Apa, pass uncut.

Some of its decisions are truly surprising. For example,
the 2003 movie Arisan! (Gathering) has a gay kissing scene, while
this year's Detik Terakhir (Last Second) even made through with
a masturbation scene and a lesbian sex scene in the bathroom.

Another thing about the LSF, it always backs down whenever
there is a protest from religious groups, government bureaucrats
or people in powerful positions.

Last year, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and Muslim TV
preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar, or Aa Gym as he is familiarly
known, blasted the LSF for passing the film Buruan Cium Gue (Kiss
Me Quick), which they condemned as likely to corrupt the youth
with "carnal desires". The film's producer then withdrew the
film.

This year, the LSF withdrew the action movie Bad Wolves as the
police objected to its portrayal of corrupt officers, which they
said would tarnish the image of the force, despite the fact that
it is at an all time low.

More recently, three documentary films about Timor Leste were
not allowed to be screened at the Jakarta International Film
Festival (JIFFest).

The films -- Timor Loro Sae, Tales for Crocodiles, and Passabe
-- were said to be likely to "open up old wounds and create
social unrest."

"They're one sided, portraying Indonesians as the bad guys.
They would further damage our already poor image," said LSF
director Titie Said.

The fear of social unrest was Titie's excuse for a lot of the
things that the LSF has done and been criticized for.

"You have to understand, not everyone is sharp and educated
like you. We're still in the middle of a transitional phase as a
nation. We are very diverse as a nation, we have to bridge that,"
she said.

"It's not undemocratic, and we're not against artistic
freedom. But there is a bigger interest here, the interest of the
nation."

While many think that censorship is redundant given the
widespread availability of pirated DVDs and access to the
Internet, Titie said "if we don't impose censorship, it would
inflict more damage to society."

Titie admitted that there were no clear criteria or
classifications for the censorship imposed, and that the relevant
legislation, Law No. 8/1992, was a bit outdated.

However, she said the board still defended artistic freedom,
for instance, in the case of Detik Terakhir, which tells the
story of a girl from a broken home who turned to drugs and
lesbianism.

"We passed the scenes because we don't want to disrupt the
essence of the film, which consists of a good moral tale," Titie
said.

John Badalu, JIFFest spokesman and director of Q! gay film
festival, said that the LSF seemed to have double standards as it
treated Western films differently on the grounds that kissing and
sex scenes were part of Western culture.

"And there should be special rules for film festivals as the
screening periods and the audiences are limited," he said.

Filmmakers have urged less censorship, and instead a tighter
rating regime.

Noted filmmaker Garin Nugroho said that the people in the LSF
were too prone to worry and fear, and that their decisions were
often immature and even ridiculous.

"The more important thing is a good law enforcement and
justice system, where people can file complaints after a film has
been screened," he said.

The current censorship system, Garin said, could undermine
democracy and justice. "We would become a worried and fearful
nation, and never mature."