India: Kumar versus the censor

April 4th, 2013

Despite making two award-winning documentaries, filmmaker Ashvin Kumar has faced difficulty having his films shown. Mahima Kaul reports on his battle with India’s Censor Board
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China: Censors erase 13 minutes from ‘Men in Black 3′ to remove Chinese villains

May 31st, 2012

China’s film censors have erased 13 minutes of footage from the new Men in Black film to remove the appearance of Chinese villains. Beijing’s censors have removed a scene showing an alien disguised as a Chinese restaurant worker, along with the appearance of a Chinese cashier girl who uses her long alien tongue to attack Will Smith’s character, Agent J. The final cut taken from the film involved Smith erasing the memories of a group of Chinese onlookers. One of the country’s newspapers speculated that the last scene had been removed as a statement on “internet censorship to maintain social stability”.

Egypt: Oscar-winning Iranian film banned from screening at Cairo University

March 15th, 2012

An Egyptian university banned the screening of an award winning Iranian film last week. The film A Separation”was due to be screened at Cairo University on 8 March, but objections from fundamentalist university groups led to the screening permit to be revoked. The film, which has won several international awards, tackles issues relating to immigration. The fundamentalist groups who objected to the screening of the film claimed it promoted Shiasm, secularism, and al-Assad’s regime at the expense of Syria, though these are not said to be themes of the film.

Malta: Censorship laws revamp announced

January 18th, 2012

The Maltese government have announced plans to over-haul censorship laws which affect stage performances and films. A three week consultation process has been launched with regards to newly proposed laws which aim to “fulfil the aspirations of the artistic community.” Tourism and Culture Minister Mario de Marco explained that the proposed amendments will move towards a system of self-regulation. The amendments also propose that the cinema and stage regulations will be transferred from the police laws to the law which regulates the Malta Council for the Arts. De Marco regretted that current laws may have failed some people.

China: Tighter film censorship plans in place

December 15th, 2011

The Chinese government is planning to tighten its already strict film censorship rules. A proposal from the State Council, released on their website earlier today, is part of a draft law which proposes to ban anti-government sentiments and messages of religious fanaticism from the cinema screen. If passed, the bill, which comes during a box-office boom in China, will increase the number of banned subjects in Chinese cinema to 13. Another proposed ban could also prevent any film from “promoting” illegal drugs or terrorist activity.

Iran: Actress sentenced to year in prison for censorship film

October 10th, 2011

On 8 October, Actress Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in jail for her performance in a film exploring censorship of artists in Iran, according to reports from Kalameh.com, an Iranian opposition website. Vafamehr was in a controversial film called “My Tehran for Sale”, which is about a young actress who takes on a secret life in order to pursue her artistic dreams, after having her theatre work banned by Tehran authorities. Vafamehr, who was initially arrested after the July release of the film, was released on bail later that month. Her lawyer reportedly filed to appeal on 9 October.

UK: Banned horror film gets 18 rating after cuts

October 7th, 2011

An initially banned horror film has been given an “18″ rating, after a number of cuts. Human Centipede 2 was originally banned in the UK for posing a “real risk of harm,” in June, but after 32 cuts, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)  granted it certification ahead of its DVD release. BBFC president Sir Quentin Thomas said that the sequel, in which a disturbed loner conducts bizarre human experiments, would still be difficult for viewers to watch, but said that the cuts “address all of the concerns raised when the board refused a classification.”

Jafar Panahi jailed, banned from film directing

December 21st, 2010

Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to six years in prison for “colluding in gathering and making propaganda against the regime”. Panahi has also been banned from directing films or speaking to the press for 20 years.