BBFC News

David Cooke, the director of the BBFC told the New Statesman that the film was classified 18 thanks mainly to its eight sex scenes, use of cocaine, LSD and marijuana, and what Cooke calls the glamorisation of drug use in the film. He added that the age gap between Minnie and Monroe, and the fact that Minnie is underage, would also have affected the decision.

He also said that the film very clearly fits into the 18 classification and wasn't a borderline case.

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The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a 2015 USA drama by Marielle Heller.
Starring Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård and Kristen Wiig.

A teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother's boyfriend.

The BBFC commented further in its BBFC Insight:

Strong sex scenes include mechanical thrusting, breast and buttock nudity, and implied oral sex. One scene includes brief sight of a pencil drawing of a young woman with a penis in her mouth.

Other issues include several moments of drug use, including cocaine use, the taking of LSD, and the smoking of marijuana. The film also contains strong verbal sex references and over forty uses of strong language ('fuck'). Some still pictures and short animated sequences include the sight of penises, both erect and flaccid.

The filmmakers have expressed disappointment after British film censors gave it an 18 certificate rather than a 15. Producers have been battling against an 18 certificate, arguing that it is exploring female sexuality in an open and honest way, and that other films featuring underage sex, Kidulthood, Fish Tank and The Reader, were all awarded 15 certificates. Wahida Begum of Vertigo Releasing said:

We are massively disappointed.

The film explores female sexuality with boldness and honesty in an unexploitative manner. In an age where young women are still continually being sexualised and objectified we feel The Diary of a Teenage Girl sends a very positive, reassuring message to young girls about female sexuality and body image.

It is a shame that audience will not be able legally see a film that was made by women for women of all ages.

The film is due to be released in the UK, with the 18 certificate, on 7 August.

The film is R rated in the US which would be called a 17A rating in the UK. The film is 15 rated in Australia (MA15+).

As noted in the recently published Annual Report, the BBFC are adjudicating on appeals against unfair website blocking by mobile service providers.

There's a few interesting decisions mainly in areas of age classifications for PC sensitive website themes.

For instance one of the early decisions was about banter on a sports forum featuring a 'rape gallery' highlighting attractive girls. The feature seems to have been deleted from the current forums on offer.

The BBFC reports:

A member of the public was concerned about several chat forum threads on not606.com which were available on an operator's mobile service, ranging from jokes about the Bin Laden family, to images with a sexual element, and a thread encouraging members to post pictures of people they would rape, described as a 'Rape Gallery', alongside written comments about raping these individuals.

Adjudication

The BBFC reviewed the content on 5th November 2013.

We partially upheld the complaint. Much of the humorous content was aimed at adolescents and was suitable, under BBFC Guidelines, for 15 year olds and above. This content therefore did not require restriction to adults only. However, we took the view that, while the Rape Gallery might have been intended to be funny, many would not find it so, and, moreover, that it posed a non-trivial harm risk by presenting women as rape targets.

We concluded that it would be classified at least 18 or R18, and might potentially be refused classification.

It seems to be something of a tradition for the press to pick up on the handful of complaints about film classifications as the only thing worth reporting from the BBFC Annual Report.

There are hardly any complaints presumably because the age categories are set more or less in line with most peoples expectations. In addition people have positively elected to go to the cinema or watch the DVD, so are less likely to be surprised at the contents, than for more passive viewing medias like TV.

Anyway the top films that attracted a few whinges are:

1. The film Mr. Turner , classified 12A, generated the most feedback in 2014: nineteen members of the public complained about a sex scene in the film, though it needs to be kept in mind that this is a very low figure for most complained-about film, and is a tiny proportion of those who will have seen it. In the scene in question, Turner's clothed buttocks are seen clenching vigorously, before the scene cuts to a close-up of his face and his thrusting head and shoulders. The scene is relatively brief and does not contain any nudity, but Turner does appear rather distressed. The act ends with shots of Turner sobbing, almost in an exhibition of self-loathing.
   
2. The 15 classification of 12 Years A Slave generated a total of twelve complaints about the violence, including sexual violence, in the film. 12 Years A Slave tells its story in a considered and responsible manner, and contains very little in the way of blood or injury detail. The scenes of violence in the film are strong but are contextually justified. With very few clear images of the injuries inflicted, the depictions of violence serve to illustrate the very real brutality suffered by many slaves at the hands of their masters. The rape of a female slave is shocking but is shown in a discreet manner. There is no nudity and the focus of the scene remains on her impassive face.
   
3. The 15 classification for Bad Neighbours received eight complaints. Correspondents raised the language, drug references and sex scenes in the film as problematic to them at 15. There is one use of the word 'cunt' as a man laments the fact that his baby has heard someone swear and worries that soon the baby will begin using the c-word .
   
4. 300: Rise of An Empire is the sequel to the film 300 and was classified 15. Seven members of the public contacted the BBFC about scenes of violence, a strong sex scene, and sexual violence in the film. Although 300: Rise Of An Empire does contain strong violence, the sequences are presented in a very stylised and unrealistic manner. For example, scenes of decapitations and slow motion plumes of blood are exaggerated and very clearly rendered using computer generated images. This gives the film a visual style similar to that of the comic book the 300 films are based on.
   
5. The Equalizer generated seven complaints from the public for its 15 classification. Correspondents raised the violence in the film as problematic at 15, while others complained that the film had been cut to achieve a 15 classification. Although the violence in The Equalizer is strong in places, particularly during hand to hand fight scenes, it does not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, nor do any of the scenes qualify as the strongest gory images of the type that would require an 18 classification.

Further voluntary regulation of online content began in October, when the BBFC in partnership with the BPI, Vevo and You Tube, and UK record companies Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK and Warner Music UK, launched a pilot to classify online music videos by UK artists signed to the three major labels. The pilot brings the same content standards to online music videos as that envisaged by an amendment to the Video Recordings Act, in force from 1 October 2014, requiring the classification of previously exempt music videos, and other educational, sport or religious videos, on DVD and Blu-ray. Any video featuring content at the 12, 15 or 18 level must be submitted to the BBFC for classification. BBFC Director David Cooke said:

As in 2013, the most fast-moving developments in our work have been in the non-statutory, self-regulatory area. Our work to protect children from potentially harmful media content online increased significantly and our partnership with the mobile industry to regulate, on a voluntary basis, internet and commercial content delivered via the mobile networks of EE, O2, Three and Vodafone also received praise from the Government, child protection groups and others, including the Open Rights Group. In 2014 we considered appeals in relation to 42 websites available via mobile networks, dealing with issues as diverse as assisted dying, racism, abortion, and hunting. Details of all of these cases are published on our website.

In addition to a growth in voluntary regulation, the BBFC classified more than 950 films for cinema release in 2014, making the level of theatrical submissions on a par with the 1960s.

In 2013 the BBFC Classification Guidelines review consulted more than 10,000 members of the British public about film classification and found that 75% understand that a film rated 12A is generally suitable for children aged 12 and over, but a younger child may see the film if accompanied by an adult. Because up to a quarter of those surveyed were unsure as to the meaning of the 12A rating, from July to September 2014 an advertisement to help increase awareness of what the 12A cinema rating means was broadcast in cinemas across the UK. The advertisement reminds parents to check the BBFCinsight for every 12A film before they take a child under 12 to see it.

As part of our wider education work, in 2014 the BBFC spoke to more than 12,000 teenagers, younger children and adults about its work to protect children and empower consumers. Many BBFC education sessions take place in partnership with film festivals, libraries and cinema chains. Our biggest collaboration of 2014 was with the Into Film Festival where we introduced 22 screenings at 17 cinema locations across the UK.