BANGKOK -- Cries of resentment erupted from Thai filmmakers and media activists last week after the cabinet approved the new Film Act and submitted it for parliamentary consideration.

The new bill, which will institute a film rating system yet still allow the state a legitimate right to cut or ban films, is believed by some observers to be worse for artistic freedom than the existing law. Current regulation dates back to 1930.

"There are three main points that we object to,” Pimpaka Towira, spokesman for the Free Thai Cinema Movement, said. “The first is that government representatives on the proposed rating committee will outnumber those from the filmmaking community.

"Second is the vague concept of age classification, which was conceived arbitrarily without any proper study. Third, and most important, is that the new law still allows cutting and banning (by the authorities), which is totally against the spirit of a good rating system."

"Ong Bak" and "The Protector" helmer Prachya Pinkaew, president of Thai Directors Association who leads the Free Thai Cinema movement, says the new law is intended to control rather than to support the industry. "The combination of ratings plus the right to ban is not going to do us any good," he said. "The law also doesn’t mention anything about state support for young or upcoming filmmakers."

The new Film Act was drafted under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, which has a strongly conservative leaning.

A senior officer at the ministry insists that the new bill has no intention to curb artistic freedom. "The idea is to let everybody participate in the rating committee,” she said. "But maybe Thai audiences are still not ready for everything."

The Free Thai Cinema Movement submitted a petition to the cabinet, but the letter did not prompt reconsideration. “Now that the bill is in the Legislative Assembly, it’s harder for us to do anything,” Pimpaka said. "But we will keep fighting one way or the other."

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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