Daniel Hui’s ‘Small Hours of the Night’ Pulled From Singapore International Film Festival After Classification Refusal

Daniel Hui’s Small Hours of the Night has been removed from the Singapore International Film Festival’s (SGIFF) lineup, after the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) refused classification for the film.

In the festival’s programme announcement last week, Small Hours of the Night was slated to make its Singapore Premiere in the Undercurrents section.

As every film requires a rating classification to be screened in Singapore, this means that the film is banned from all public screenings.

The festival has not yet released a statement on this decision. The film received the Tan Ean Kiam Foundation-SGIFF Southeast Asian Documentary Grant in 2020.

Small Hours of the Night is set in late 1960s Singapore, just shortly after the country became independent. In a dark room, a woman is trapped and is interrogated by a man. The film draws from real 1980s court case involving Tan Chay Wa’s tombstone.

Small Hours of the Night made its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam earlier this year and its North American premiere at Doc Fortnight MoMA.

IMDA’s explanation for its decision can be found on its Media Classification Database, which stated: “Small Hours of the Night is a film that revolves around discourses about the impact of Singapore’s judiciary on personal lives. Set in a room, it features a person being interrogated on various issues with references to past judicial cases. The film has been refused classification. 

“In consultation with the Ministry of Law and the Attorney-General’s Chambers, IMDA has assessed the film to have content that is potentially contrary to the law, i.e. illegal. It would be likely to be prejudicial to national interests to approve it for screening.  

“Under the Film Classification Guidelines, ‘any material that undermines or is likely to undermine public order, or is likely to be prejudicial to national interest’ will be refused classification.”

Hui, the film’s writer-director, said: “As the director of this film, the irony does not escape me that a film about censorship is itself being censored. I am of course very disappointed that people all around the world can see this film, but not in Singapore. However, I remain hopeful that one day, we will have a discursive space in Singapore that is gracious and generous enough to include diverse voices and points of view.”

Small Hours of the Night was produced by Tan Bee Thiam and Daniel Hui, with cinematography by Looi Wan Ping. It was produced by 13 Little Pictures with the support of Purin Pictures and White Light Studios.