One month after briefly banning "Schindler's List," the government's film censorship board has ruled another Oscar-winning film, "The Piano," is pornographic and unfit for Filipino audiences.
The ruling was announced last week by the Movies and Television Review and Classification Board, which rates films and television programs.Although it did not ban "The Piano," the board gave it an "X" rating that effectively bans it because there are no theaters licensed to show X-rated films.
An audience that had gathered Thursday night at the Cinema Studio in suburban Mandaluyong for the Philippine premiere broke into catcalls and boos when management announced the film could not be shown.
The ruling on Jane Campion's film, which won Oscars for best actress, best supporting actress and best screenplay, has generated another round of debate similar to what arose last month over the censoring of Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List."
Censors first demanded that sex scenes be cut from Spielberg's film, which won an Oscar for best picture. Spielberg refused, and the decision was overruled by President Fidel Ramos.
The board objected to several nude scenes in "The Piano." Board Chairman Henrietta Mendez also said characters played by Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel showed "no remorse" about adultery.