Singapore festival stands by The Assassin(s) as opening film after political push to pull it

The Singapore International Film Festival is holding its ground. It will open with Hur Jin-ho's The Assassin(s) on Oct. 21, despite a letter signed by all 109 lawmakers of South Korea's People Power Party asking it to pull the film, according to Variety.

The letter was sent Tuesday under the name of floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik and addressed to festival executive director Jeremy Chua. It urged the festival organisers to reverse the selection immediately. To support its case, it cited a survey of 1,017 adults in which 58.2% called the film a distortion of history, while 27.6% saw it as a matter of creative freedom.

The festival said no. In its reply, it said the film was chosen through its independent curatorial process for artistic merit and for its contribution to contemporary Asian cinema. It added that the filmmakers had described the work as an imagined story that mixes real events with invented characters, with no intention to settle history, misrepresent facts or push a political agenda.

So what is the film at the centre of the row? The festival's programme copy describes it as a gripping procedural thriller in which a detective, a reporter and a news editor join forces to uncover the truth about a shooting, undeterred by the intimidation of state agents, according to SGIFF. Hur is due to attend the Singapore opening with cast members Shim Eun-kyung and Park Sung-hoon. The film world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, where it was second runner-up for the international People's Choice award.

In South Korea, the film has drawn both crowds and complaints. It opened in cinemas there on Sept. 23. The festival, citing Korean Film Council data, said it had passed roughly 2.5 million admissions, meaning tickets sold, and posted seat occupancy of around 47% over the Chuseok harvest holiday.

The dispute has already spilled over to another festival. On Oct. 1, the Busan International Film Festival called off Actors House: Lee Min-ho, citing unavoidable circumstances. Distributor Hive Media Corp. then withdrew the cast and crew of The Assassin(s) from all Busan appearances, including the opening ceremony and an outdoor stage greeting, on safety grounds. The Producers Guild of Korea and the Cinematographers Guild of Korea have issued separate statements on the dispute.

For ticket holders in Singapore, this means the plan is unchanged. The 37th Singapore International Film Festival is scheduled to run from 21 October to 1 November, according to SGIFF, with The Assassin(s) still listed as the opening-night screening.