Thailand confirms Insect ban

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Policy/Legal News

Thai authorities on Friday confirmed a ban on the release of local, gay-themed film Insects In The Backyard.

The National Film Board ruled that the film was "deeply Immoral" and could not be allowed even a limited release in specialist theatres. In November the censor board ruled that "the film's content goes against public order or morality." (See Film Business Asia, 11 Nov 2010.)

Directed by Tanwarin Sukkhapisit (ธัญญ์วาริน สุขพิสิษฐ์) the semi-autobiographical film is the story of a transvestite father's (Sukkhapisit) upbringing of two teenagers. It film includes explicit scenes of masturbation and fetish sex between the teenagers and their paying clients.

Sukkhapisit said that the scenes the censors objected to were crucial to the film and cannot be cut. She told news agencies:"the problem with my film wasn't that it was a gay-themed movie _ because there are many gay comedies allowed in Thailand. My movie was banned because it was a serious movie. It showed there can be real problems when society cannot accept sexual differences."

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