BBFC

Before a film is released to the public, it first has to be given a classification, which acts as an advisory for viewers as to who the film is most suitable for. The body that classifies films for release in the UK is the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The BBFC is made up of examiners who watch the unrated film from start to finish and give it one of seven ratings. These ratings are U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18 and R18. The BBFC has a set list of guidelines that help them to decide which rating to give a particular film. These guidelines take into consideration the levels of imitable behaviour, strong language, sexual references/nudity, drug use and horror within the work among others, as well as the context in which they are portrayed (among others).

 

In my opinion, my 5-minute short film should be classified as a 12, as although there is a hanging scene within the film, the screen will fade to black before the actual hanging takes place, and does not dwell on the ‘details’ of the situation. Another point for concern is the violence that appears when the suspect (played by Lewis Pickering), is arrested/charged and attempts to resist police officers, however, this is mild and contains no material which may be considered ‘harmful’.

Also since the film is silent, there is no strong language that could offend any viewers, no drug use, no sexual references/nudity and no discrimination, making the 12 classification appropriate for my short film.