Seemingly uncomfortable with the tale of two young Palestinian girls who form the central subject of a documentary, the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) has banned the screening of the film Radiance of Resistance here.
The documentary was scheduled to be screened at indie cinema The Projector on Thursday as part of the Singapore Palestinian Film Festival, but the authorities made sure that this would not be kosher. The 2016 flick, directed by American humanitarian and filmmaker Jesse Roberts, has been classified as “not allowed for all ratings” by the IMDA for its apparently “inflammatory” narrative and having the potential to stoke religious disharmony here.
The allegedly explosive narrative revolves around the story of two sisters — 9-year-old Janna Ayyad and 14-year-old Ahed Tamimi — both of whom are familiar faces in the new generation of Palestinian non-violent resistance in the country’s long-standing conflict with Israeli forces. The pair are civil rights activists residing under Israeli military occupation in the town of Nabi Saleh, with Ahed described as the poster child for Palestinian plight, while Janna is known as one of the youngest journalists in the world for her documentation of violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers in her town.
On the flip side, Israel has a very different view of the Tamimis. Times of Israel described young Janna as a child star “cleverly employed to mask their well-documented support for terror and Jew-hatred.” Ahed was arrested and charged with assaulting security forces after a video of her physically confronting an Israeli soldier went viral online.
Similarly, IMDA also has an adverse view of the film that chronicles the conflict through the eyes of the Tamimi siblings and their family. What they found problematic with Radiance of Resistance was apparently its “skewed narrative” that explores the Palestine-Israel conflict “without counterbalance.”
“In holding up the girls as role models to be emulated in an ongoing conflict, the film incites activists to continue their resistance against the alleged oppressors,” the governing body wrote.
IMDA asserts that the prohibition falls in line with its guidelines, which state that films that “create misunderstanding or disharmony amongst the races” will not be allowed for exhibition or distribution in Singapore.
Cancelled
Though this year’s Singapore Palestinian Film Festival will still forge ahead, The Projector has canceled the public screening of Radiance of Resistance. Speaking to TODAY, The Projector’s co-founder and general manager Sharon Tan noted that she respects IMDA’s decision, and will refund the tickets to all those who bought them.
The reactions to IMDA’s ban have also been forthright, with individuals such as prominent playwright Alfian Sa’at voicing his opinions about the move.
Singapore’s stance on Palestine-Israel relations
Singapore’s position on the strained relations between the two Middle East nations has been the same for a long time — the belief in a two-state solution. This belief has recently seen Singapore joining 128 other nations in rejecting US president Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, because doing so would upend all efforts made towards a two-state solution.
Though the vote may have won the hearts of local Malay-Muslims (a community that is largely pro-Palestine), IMDA’s decision to ban a film that happens to be straddling on the Palestinian side of the ongoing conflict will probably undo it. But the ban shouldn’t come as a surprise — after all, Singapore and Israel share a pretty tight relationship that dates as far back as 1966, when Israeli advisers were brought in to help to kickstart Singapore’s own military force, including the national service program.
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