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SINGAPORE : Anyone who missed R21 films like Saw III and Borat in the cinemas is unlikely to find the DVDs at their neighbourhood video store anytime soon.
And that's the official word from the Media Development Authority (MDA).
The regulatory body in charge of film and video classification revealed in a recent email interview with TODAY that it's taking "a phased approach".
"One of the major concerns brought up by the community at the point when the Censorship Review Committee proposed a video classification system," noted Cassandra Tay, the MDA's director of communications, "was the issue of videos with explicit content being accessed by the young.
"The MDA will consult all its stakeholders, including the public, before taking the next course of action."
In other words: Hold your horses.
The issue of classification comes under the spotlight again with the release of This Film is Not Yet Rated, which will be screened on March 28 as part of The Picturehouse's first anniversary festival.
The provocative, R21-rated documentary by American Kirby Dick reopens the debate on whether raters tend to err on the side of caution.
In Singapore, of course, caution has been the watchword since the introduction of film classification in 1991. Since then, the MDA has periodically refined the system to take into account different levels of depiction of sex, violence and coarse language.
The new thinking: Fit the film to the right rating rather than trim the film for a one-size-fits-all rating.
Further liberalisation came with video classification in 2004 that allows titles up to M18 to be imported for sale and rental.
Two and a half years into implementation, film buffs are still unable to get their hands on R21 movies like Kill Bill Vol 1. But the MDA contends that ground sentiment so far has been positive.
"Consumers have expressed appreciation that video classification has allowed for greater choice," said Tay.
"Submissions of titles by video distributors for classification have increased by an average of 20 per cent since 2003. About 16 per cent were passed NC16 while 12.5 per cent under an M18 rating."
Generally, video titles follow the ratings used when they were shown theatrically. So, for instance, the Anne Hathaway vehicle, Havoc, is rated M18, as per its cinema release.
To date, according to Tay, there have been 16 breaches relating to conditions of sale. These include the lack of signage indicating age restrictions, not enforcing the age restrictions or inappropriate display of publicity material for such restricted titles.
This small number of errant distributors, however, has not been enough to persuade the MDA to hasten the speed of liberalisation.
It's probably mindful of the fact that, when R21 movies were first allowed in 1991, cinema operators quickly exploited the loophole to bring in many soft-porn flicks.
For a while, it looked like they had it good, with box office takings shooting through the roof as people flocked to catch what had long been denied them.
But a backlash from conservative members of the public soon put paid to the boom.
"We'll consider the possibility of allowing R21 titles in due course," was all Tay would say, declining to disclose a time frame by which this might take place.
Meanwhile, the status quo remains. - TODAY/sh
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