Filmmaker Anant Singh’s award-winning movie‚ Shepherds and Butchers‚ has been withdrawn from the Durban Film Festival.

TMG Digital reported last week how a Go Pro made documentary was chosen to open the festival on June 16‚ instead of Singh’s film.

In a statement on Tuesday‚ Singh as producer and director Oliver Schmitz said they were pulling out.

Also read: Film producer Anant Singh wins another lifetime achievement award

“Films like these are a labour of love and made with intense commitment and sacrifice by many people over many years‚” Schmitz said in a statement. “I would expect a festival‚ especially when it has promised a gala event around the film‚ to cherish it as much as we do. I do not feel this is the case with the screening slot offered.”

Singh said he had been willing to accept a new slot to a different day‚ and had reached agreement the film would be shown on Friday June 17. He’d asked for the screening to be between 7-8pm as an optimum time for people to get to the show. But on Monday‚ he said‚ he received a unilateral notification that the film would have a new time slot of 6pm‚ and the newly elected leadership were unwilling to compromise‚ even to 6.45pm.

Shepherds and Butchers was expected to open the festival‚ but new festival director Peter Machen last week named the opening film as The Journeymen‚ a documentary.

The change in programme came after the former festival manager Sarah Dawson resigned from her position due to alleged interference by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s deputy vice chancellor of Humanities‚ Professor Cheryl Potgieter‚ in the selection of the festival’s opening-night film.

She said that Singh’s movie had been “unilaterally confirmed” as the opening night film by UKZN by Potgieter after direct discussion between Singh and Potgieter.

Dawson described this as being “simultaneously neglectful‚ anti-democratic and meddling”.

In a social media post about her resignation‚ Dawson said media reports claiming that she had resigned over allegations of censorship‚ were misleading.

Responding to Dawson’s allegations‚ Machen said the issue was “an internal conversation” which should not have been made public. He said it had been made public for a variety of reasons which didn’t have much to do with the festival.

“Curatorial autonomy has been restored. It should be pointed out that in the 37 years of the festival there has never been any interference with the programme. There were intimations that this was the thin edge of the wedge but I can say with certainty that this is not the case.”

He said that it was “perfectly normal” for producers to use all kinds of pressure to try to persuade the festival to accept their films as part of the programming “but the actual programme is decided on by the festival director and informed by a rich conversation with all of those involved in the selection”.

Filmed in 2014‚ the year South Africa celebrated 20 years of democracy and the year that Nelson Mandela died‚ The Journeymen chronicles the experiences of three South African photographers as they travel in a motor home around the country with GoPro cameras strapped to their chests.

“The film is inclusive and democratic‚” said Machen‚ “It talks to all South Africans and is a particularly appropriate movie to be screened on Youth Day‚ June 16.”