The BBFC

The BBFC stands for The British Board of Film Classification which regulates the British film Industry. They create and set the rules of what can and can't be shown in films as well as allocating the age certificates of films in the UK. As the BBFC have this title, this allows film audiences to complain if they dislike the content within the film. The only way a film can be released in Britain, the cinema or DVD unless it has received this age classification from the BBFC. 

These are all the age certificates in the UK:

When awarding film certificates The BBFC consider...

- Scenes including violence of all kinds

- Scenes including sex and nudity

- Scenes including obscene language

- Scenes of self harm

- Scenes of criminal activity

- Scenes with dangerous behaviour 

- Scenes of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes

- Scenes involving child actors/characters

- Strobe lighting

The BBFC also have to consider context when awarding film certificates. For example, this could include if a film is fantasy based, animated or realistic. However when a film is fantasy based or animated, they can often include more violence compared to a realistic film whilst having a lower age certificate. This is due to The BBFC believing that audiences will realise that it is not real and does not usually involve any serious injury. Another element of film that The BBFC consider when assigning age certificates is how certain issues are handled. An example of this is the use of drugs. A film might be given a lower film certificate if drug use is portrayed as negative in a sensitive fashion contrasting with drug use being portrayed as consequence free and normalised would often be given a higher film certificate. 

Violence is a major element of film which makes the age certificate vary. For example...

- Is the violence made to seem normal

- Why are they being violent... is is self defence?

- What injuries or harm are caused?

- Who is it that is violent eg hero or villain?

- How does the perpetrator treat the victim?

- Is the violence enjoyed?

- Is the violence made to seem exciting or glamorous?

- How much violence is there?

- How realistic is the violence?

- Does the violence get punished?

The format of release also effects the age certificates such as The BBFC commonly use a higher age certificate when films are released on DVD compared to cinema where it is slightly more relaxed. For example, The Hunger Games has the 12A certificate when released in cinema however on the DVD release this is different. The BBFC decided to raise it to a 15 instead on the DVD release.

The process of assigning age certificates begins with the production company sending a copy of the film to The BBFC for them to watch and decide the certificate. This allows the film to be released on cinema or DVD however this age certificate can be changed if the company isn't happy with it as long as they re-edit the film. 

As a production group, we decided that our opening sequence would have a 15 age certificate. This is because a 15 often has strong language, violence, sex and drug use. Our opening sequence includes a lot of violence and a short scene of alcohol use. However, we don't believe that the content is strong enough that it would offend adult viewers which would make it an 18.