The Oscar-nominated lesbian flick The Kids Are All Right has received a restrictive rating in Singapore, with its release also being limited to just one print. The move has shocked local cinema fans and film-makers.

In a letter to the film’s distributor, Singapore’s Board of Film Censors say that “the film normalises a homosexual family unit”. They argue that the film therefore breaches classification guidelines, which state that “films should not promote or normalize a homosexual lifestyle”.

The Kids Are All Right was awarded an R21 rating, meaning that it can only be seen by viewers who are over the age of 21. The film was rated 15 in the UK for “strong sex, hard drug use and language”.

Other films with LGBT themes (including Brokeback Mountain and A Single Man) have also been rated R21 in Singapore, but this is the first time that a one-screen release has been imposed upon any film in the city-state. “Imposing a condition of one-print serves as a signal to the public at large that such alternative lifestyles should not be encouraged,” stated the Board of Film Censors.

Lesley Ho, the former director of the Singapore International Film Festival, was unimpressed. “I thought we had grown up. I am flabbergasted,” he said. Local film-maker Eric Khoo described the decision as “ridiculous”.