SGIFF Opens With Hur Jin-ho Political Thriller Despite Opposition Pressure

South Korean director Hur Jin-ho commended the Singapore International Film Festival for defending artistic freedom after the festival refused to pull his opening film.

FTMQ Entertainment, written by our newsroom22 October 2026 at 01:050 views

South Korean director Hur Jin-ho thanked the Singapore International Film Festival for defending freedom of expression as his political thriller The Assassin(s) opened the festival on Wednesday, Variety reported. The opening took place two weeks after South Korea's conservative opposition party, the People Power Party, asked the festival to pull the film. [1]

The screening marked the commencement of the 37th edition of the Singapore International Film Festival, according to Variety. Festival Chair Boo Junfeng stated that the organization refuses to show anything that has undergone censorship. [1]

During the event, Hur Jin-ho expressed his gratitude to the organizers for protecting artistic freedom and the freedom of expression in cinema, Variety reported. He added that the decision made by the festival will serve as an encouragement to fellow filmmakers. [1]

Hur Jin-ho's political thriller The Assassin(s) opened the 37th Singapore International Film Festival.
South Korea's conservative opposition asked SGIFF to pull the film two weeks prior to the festival.
SGIFF Chair Boo Junfeng stated the festival refuses to show censored content.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

[1]Hur Jin-ho Thanks Singapore Festival for Protecting Freedom of Expression as ‘The Assassin(s)’ Opens, SGIFF Chair Boo Junfeng Says: ‘We Refuse to Show Anything That Has Been Censored’Variety, 2h ago (the report this story comes from)

Background

[2]Busan on Wikipedia
[3]Regular Show on Wikipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 3 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

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