Two films that were to have been shown at the Singapore International Film Festival have run into difficulties after censors demanded cuts for explicit sexual content and religious symbols.

Princess, Anders Morgenthaler’s animated film in which a priest sets out to erase his dead sister’s past as a porn star, was withdrawn after the censor demanded the festival cut a “religiously offensive” scene. According to Singapore’s Board of Film Censors: “The scene has a porn star in a nun’s habit, with a cross protruding from her behind. Film with content denigrating a religion or a religious symbol are not permitted.”

Solos, a Singapore film that explores relationships among three individuals who are struggling to open up their feelings towards each other was censored because of “explicit homosexual lovemaking scenes including scenes of oral sex and threesome sex”, according to the censorship board said.

Loo Zihan, co-director of Solos, has not yet withdrawn the film and is appealing the censor’s decision. “The sex scenes are not meant to titillate. It’s an art film. We hope it won’t be viewed as porn,” he said.

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