BANGKOK » Thailand’s National Film Board has rejected a movie about a transgender father struggling to raise two children, a ban that the director says highlights the conservative side of Thai society despite its freewheeling reputation.

The board ruled this week that the film, "Insects in the Backyard," cannot not be shown in Thailand because it is immoral and pornographic.

Director Tanwarin Sukkhapisit told The Associated Press on Friday that the scenes deemed offensive by the board were crucial to the story line and cannot be cut. The director says she plans to appeal the decision.

The ban is the latest example of Thailand’s look-the-other way tolerance running afoul of the government’s efforts to maintain traditional Buddhist values of modesty and manners.