'Apa Khabar Orang Kampung' to Release in Singapore

APRIL 24: The banned local independent movie, "Apa Khabar Orang Kampung", will be released in Singapore on May 10, its director, Amir Muhammad, announced yesterday.

The movie will be released under its English title, "Village People Radio Show", at the Cathay Picturehouse in Handy Road, Singapore, and will be shown for at least two weeks.

Amir said the movie has been passed uncut by Singapore censors but it is rated NC16 (content not suitable for children under 16).

"Apa Khabar Orang Kampung", a documentary about the former members of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was banned by Malaysian authorities in February. The 72-minute film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last February, features interviews with about ten Malay members of the now defunct CPM who are living in exile in southern Thailand.

This is the second film by Amir which has been banned since May last year. His earlier movie, 'Lelaki Komunis Terakhir', was initially approved for limited screenings by the Censorship Board but was eventually banned by the Internal Security Ministry because the semi-musical documentary was deemed "insensitive" to Umno's 60th anniversary celebrations last year.