Nontawat Numbenchapol, whose documentary Fah Tam Pan Din Soon or Boundary was stopped from being released commercially by the censorship board on Tuesday, said he was informed of the about-turn unofficially by phone.
According to him, the censorship board would agree to lift the ban, imposed yesterday, if he agrees to cut some scenes. One of the scenes is when a villager talks about HM the King.
The five-member censorship panel, under the Ministry of Culture, said on Tuesday that the Thai-produced film could “persuade viewers to falsely believe” incorrect information, and was a threat to national security and international relations.
The film recounts the journey of an army private who took part in the military crackdown on protesters of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in 2010 before returning home to Si Sa Ket.
The film then shifts to a discussion about border spats between Thailand and Cambodia, featuring several interviews with residents on both sides.
“I made the film because I wanted to look at issues confronting our society, from the red-shirt and yellow-shirt problems to the Preah Vihear issue,” Mr Nontawat said yesterday.
“The comments [made by the villagers] are facts that Thais in general already know and this shows that the panel is actually trying to censor the thoughts of people,” Mr Nontawat said.
The ban on Boundary made headlines in international news media, including The Guardian in the UK, and the Washington Post and Hollywood Reporter in the US.