FILIPINO filmmaker Auraeus Solito?s latest work, ?Boy,? has gotten into trouble with Singapore censors.

The city-state?s censors, according to Solito who is currently in Amsterdam, disapproved ?Boy,? which was set to have its world premiere at the 22nd Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) this month.

Disallowed

In an e-mail, Solito told Inquirer Entertainment that Zhang Wenjie, SIFF festival director, informed him that ?Boy? had been ?disallowed? because of a ?gay lovemaking scene.?

?Zhang said that the festival doesn?t believe in asking filmmakers to reedit their works so that it can be shown publicly,? recounted Solito, who made waves in the international festival circuit with his debut ?Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros.?

According to Solito, Zhang was ?disappointed and surprised? by the censors? decision because the organizers found the love scene ?beautiful.?

Solito described ?Boy? as a ?coming-of-age? story about a young poet who ?discovers his sexuality and falls for a macho dancer.?

Although Zhang had offered a private screening with the jury and a limited audience, Solito considered pulling out the film from the festival where it?s in competition. ?I make films for an audience, not a jury,? Solito said.

?Boy? is not the only SIFF entry that has gotten the censors? axe, Solito revealed. ?A Singaporean film, ?Female Games,? was also disallowed because of a lesbian love scene. Same with an Israeli documentary on suicide bombers.?

At press time, Solito has decided to ?withdraw from the competition, but is willing to have a private screening and open forum with the audience.?

?I?m still awaiting SIFF?s reaction on this,? he said.

Second time around

It is Solito?s second brush with censors.

?Three years ago, my second film ?Tuli? got an ?X? rating from the local censors (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board),? he recalled. ?It was cut to pieces.?

After the Singapore debacle, Solito has decided not to submit ?Boy? to the MTRCB. ?I hope to have public screenings in censorship-free venues like the UP Film Institute and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.?

He is aware, however, of the raging row between the UP Film Institute and the MTRCB. ?I hope UP will remain censorship-free,? he said.

Solito related that his Singapore experience reminded him of a comment made by Jeremy Segay, Cannes Directors? Fortnight selection committee member: ?He said the Philippines is still the most progressive country in the (Asian) region.?

Solito also plans to screen ?Boy? in the Torino Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, where he is part of the jury. ?The ImagineNative in Toronto and Outfest in LA have also expressed interest,? he said.

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com