KUALA LUMPUR: Popular filmmaker and producer Datuk Yusof Haslam has criticised the Film Censorship Board (LPF) for its stagnant approach to censorship guidelines.
"I hope they can be more open-minded since we live in a more advanced and digital world today.
"We need to change or else we will remain stagnant. Viewers in the current times are not stupid.
"This is an open criticism to the LPF," said Yusof after a gala night screening of new horror movie Harum Malam at GSC Starling in Petaling Jaya yesterday.
During the screening, the Dain Said-directed movie, which received a PG-13 rating from the LPF, featured multiple scenes where areas of the screen were blurred out and dialogue muted.
Producer Nandita Solomon of Apparat Films said that there were initially 17 cuts to the supernatural movie.
But eventually, there were 14 instances of muted dialogue and blurred out segments in order for the PG-13 rating to be awarded for screening in cinemas.
Harum Malam is produced by Apparat Films in partnership with D'Ayu Pictures and Skop Productions which is headed by Yusof.
The 68-year-old producer of a long string of box office hits such as Munafik and Abang Long Fadil said that he was disappointed with what had happened.
"I'm disappointed with what has been done to the film. Yet there are worse things that people can watch on platforms like Netflix, some of which I don't think are suitable for kids at all.
"I don't think the scenes in this film are too harsh or touch on sensitive issues.
"The LPF needs to change its approach in order for the local film industry to advance further," he said.
Harum Malam, which stars Bront Palarae, Remy Ishak, Nadiya Nisaa, Nabila Huda, Amanda Ang, Joey Daud and Faizal Hussein, revolves around a boy with special abilities from a family of traditional healers who has to deal with the horrors brought upon by a malignant supernatural presence after it is accidentally released.
The movie which also received a Digital Content Grant Fund (DKD) from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) is set to be screened in 90 cinemas nationwide from Feb 9 onwards.