It is worth noting that in Singapore, authorities have already imposed a ban on public screenings of Tan Pin Pin’s To Singapore, With Love, a film about exiles one of whom is Tan Wah Piow, alleged mastermind of the Marxist conspiracy. It is likely that a similar, if not more severe, decision will be made by the Media Development Authority in regards to this project.
“A movie is different from a book. You write a book, I can write a counter-book, the book you can read together with the counter-book. The movie, [if] you watch the movie you think it’s a documentary.” These words were said by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in October 2014, in response to banning of To Singapore, With Love. The historical irony is that Tracing the Conspiracy was precisely such a “movie” presented as a “documentary”. Nevertheless, if counter-books can be written, counter-documentaries can also be made. We therefore seek your help in making this film.
In any case, 1987: Untracing the Conspiracy will be a film that does not merely refute the colonizer’s version of thetruth. On the contrary, the multiple rounds of feedback will ensure that this documentary film will be a self-critical work that examines its own basis. And at the very least, it will be a work in which actors are not compelled to falsely incriminate themselves, but a work that gives expression to the critical faculties and creative energies of each participant.
We therefore look forward to the day when the mass media in Singapore and the administrative apparatus of the state functions with a responsible degree of independence.