The BBFC is launching a Youth Panel, for 16-19 year olds, to build on the organisation's existing youth work, and give the next generation an opportunity to influence classification policy as well as a chance to build vital life skills.
The BBFC Youth
Panel will capture the youth voice and ensure that the organisation continues to meet the needs of young people, and classification policy captures their views. The group will also provide feedback on classification issues and decisions, and be consulted
on other educational and outreach work.
Sarah Peacock, Compliance and Education Manager at the BBFC, said:
Over the last year we've all spent more time in the digital world than ever before. Choosing content well, and
staying safe online, are vital skills to develop as a teen or young person. That's one of the reasons why we're launching our brand new Youth Panel this year - to ensure that we continue to reflect the opinions of the younger generation in our everyday
work.
We know that teens and young people have been particularly hit hard by the pandemic. The world has shrunk for so many, and there are now fewer educational and extracurricular opportunities available. We now find ourselves in
another lockdown, with homeschooling the norm once again. We want our Youth Panel to give members - who have missed out on so much over the last year - a chance to develop skills, make connections, have their voice heard, and influence policy.
Successful applicants will be given the chance to: shadow a Compliance Officer and see behind the scenes of the BBFC; influence education resources and outreach work; input into research and help shape the future of classification policy;
guide and shape social media campaigns, including creating content for the official BBFC channels; develop practical work experience skills, including communication, presentation, teamwork and self-management skills; and network with different teams
across the BBFC and gain a deeper understanding of the role of regulation and content classification.
Sarah added:
You don't need to be a film or media studies student to apply. We're looking for young people -
of all backgrounds and from anywhere in the UK - with opinions, who want to have their voices heard. If you have a passion for digital culture, and want to gain valuable skills for university or job applications, we want to hear from you.
The BBFC Youth Panel will meet termly, with initial sessions held online. Sessions will be structured, and successful applicants will also be expected to complete short tasks between sessions, which might include filming a short video or
filling in a survey. Panelists will be asked to initially commit to a year, but have the option to take part for up to two years.
I was earwigging on a Twitter conversation about the possibility of a film being released by the distributors Third Window Films. It revealed that declining sales for physical disks coupled with pay per minute film censorship fees by the BBFC were
leading to longer niche market films being unviable for release in the UK.
Third Window were asked about the possibility of the release of the two and a half hour film Red Post on Escher Street . Third Window responded:
To be honest, the only things putting us off is the fact that the BBFC charge by the minute (making it an expensive release) and are raising their prices again, plus the fact it's been bootlegged big time already
[it's] Not the cuts as much as the costs! It's why we try to release short films as much as possible!
And referring to a previous release of a long film, Third Window said:
BBFC
was a little cheaper back then, but the market was much better so you could take chances on longer films. Yes, with dwindling sales, expensive costs of bluray production and BBFC, it's much harder nowadays.
1987 Japan anime horror previously cut but now released uncut on DVD and Blu-ray
21st December 2020
Thanks to Anthony
Wicked City is a 1987 Japan anime horror sci-fi by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. With Gregory Snegoff, Mike Reynolds and Alexandra Kenworthy.
There has been peace between the worlds of the mortals
and the supernatural for centuries, but the balance is now being threatened. The Radical elements from the Supernatural world are crossing over into the mortal universe for the purpose of destroying the peace forever!
The film was cut
by the BBFC for 18 rated VHS in 1993 and cinema release in 1994. The 1993 BBFC cuts were:
A panning shot of Jin having his hand on Maki's crotch is deleted
Close-up of Maki's crotch with Jin's hand on it, along with the subsequent shot of Maki's hair grabbing Jin, which is cut for continuity.
The demon creature forcing
its tongue to Maki's mouth, and then doing the "old in-out".
The beginning of Maki's rape by the demons is short of a demon mauling on her breast, and the following brief rape shot.
The rest of Maki's rape is massively reduced
and cut (over 20 seconds). This includes the demons mauling and her raping her.
Raping of Maki in the demon base has lost four close-ups - the demons squeezing her breasts, Maki getting raped from behind, a close of Maki's face, and of her
chained hands.
The films has been re-released in 2020 as a double bill with Demon City Shinjuku and has been released uncut on DVD and Blu-ray. Anthony commented:
I can confirm, judging by the
existing descriptions of what the BBFC cut, that this brand-new 2020 DVD and Blu-Ray release of Wicked City is uncut.
The running time stacks up with the uncut version too.
UK: BBFC details not yet published though for:
2020 Manga Limited Edition [Wicked City and Demon City Shinjuku] (RB) Blu-ray
at UK Amazon #ad
2020 Manga Standard Edition [Wicked City and Demon
City Shinjuku] (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2020 Manga [Wicked City
and Demon City Shinjuku] R2 DVD at UK Amazon
We pride ourselves on being an accountable and transparent regulator that people trust, and it was never our intention to withhold or hide cuts or rejected content.
We have
always been clear publicly that the issue is a bug which we have been working hard to fix. This occurred because we have transferred more than 100 years worth of data from our old system to a new one. While the website is what most people see, we have
also changed the system we use for classification - which we announced on 28 January 2020 and you can read about on our website.
While we anticipated bumps along the way - which is to be expected with any transformational project
of this nature - we regret that issues have occurred around cuts. We are very proud to be an accountable and transparent regulator, and so getting this issue fixed has been a high priority for us. We are now confident that this has been fixed, and would
like to stress, again, that if any record is still missing cuts information then this is entirely unintentional. Going forward, we will continue to update records manually if we discover that any information is missing.
At the
BBFC, our focus is on helping children and families choose content well by providing them with the guidance they need to make informed decisions about what's right for them and what isn't. Our new website has been optimised for mobile, to make it easier
than ever before for parents to find the trusted information they need and want. Research shows that demand for clear content labelling has never been higher, with 97% of people saying they benefit from age ratings being in place.
Trust in the BBFC remains at an all time high, with 83% of parents saying they trust our age ratings all or most of the time, and 92% of people agreeing with our decisions. We take the integrity and impartiality of our work very seriously and over more
than a century, the BBFC has increasingly come to be recognised as the go-to guide that people can trust.
I tried looking up a few old banned and cut films but cuts and bans are still missing. A did spot cuts and bans information
about Human Centipede 2 but this information did not include the basic cuts time, nor did it make clear which releases the described cuts apply to.
The BBFC writes in its latest bard meeting minutes: The Board heard a report:
on plans to reform the BBFC's Video Appeals Committee drawing on the membership of the Advisory Panel on Children's Viewing to create an appeals
mechanism that remains independent of the BBFC and is much more efficient and fit for purpose than current arrangements.
And from the last Annual Report here are the rather biased sounding current members of the Advisory Panel on
Children's Viewing:
Reg Bailey Chair of The Board of Trustees at YMCA England & Wales
Margo Boye-Anawomah Childcare barrister & family judge
John Carr OBE Expert on child
protection in relation to new media
Naomi Eisenstadt Independent Adviser on Poverty and Inequality (previously Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, Oxford University)
Professor
Charlie Lewis Professor of Family & Developmental Psychology, Lancaster University
Annie Mullins OBE Director of Ask.fm Europe Trust & Safety and Co-founder of the Institute of Digital Well-Being
The Very Reverend Professor Martyn Percy Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
Professor Ann Phoenix Co-Director of the Thomas Coram Research Unit
Honor Rhodes OBE Director
of Strategic Development, [trans controversial] Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships
Louise Robinson Ex-headteacher, independent school 4-18; Registered Lead Inspector, educational consultant and appraiser
The BBFC is launching a Youth Panel, for 16-19 year olds, to build on the organisation's existing youth work, and give the next generation an opportunity to influence classification policy as well as a chance to build vital life skills. 
