BBFC - Age Rating

Drug Use In A 12/12A
“There may be infrequent sight of drugs misuse in a 12A or a 12 but the portrayal should not be glamorised or provide instructional detail.”  In our film our main character is shown to get pills out of a packet then consume them with alcohol.

Drug use in a 15
“At 15 drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail).  The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances like aerosols or solvents is unlikely to be acceptable at 15.”  In our film we show no use of solvents etc. As well as this we also show drug use but do not give great detail on instructions of how to use them.

Suicide in a 12/12A
“Dangerous behaviour (for example hanging and suicide) may be present in 12A or 12 works but will not dwell on detail which could be copied or present those activities in a manner that children are likely to copy.” Our film focuses on the pills taken to commit suicide, which may make it a 15-rated film rather than a 12.

Suicide in a 15

“We consider the risk of potential harm to impressionable teenagers. For example, dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.” In our film we show suicide but not in the form of hanging or self harming, as well as this we do not dwell on any details of suicide.

 Bad Language in a 12/12A
“The BBFC's Guidelines state that strong language (e.g. 'f***') may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film or DVD being placed at the 15 category. There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category. There may be moderate language (e.g. uses of terms such as ‘bitch’ and ‘twat’ at 12 or 12A).” We use F*** only once in our film which could keep it in the 12 category in terms of language.

Bad Language in a 15
“There could potentially be a great deal. At 15 there is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language (e.g. ‘f***’). Occasionally there may be uses of the strongest terms (e.g. 'c***'), depending on the manner in which they are used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. However, continued or aggressive use will not normally be passed 15.” Our film only has 1 use of F*** during an argument between two characters. This means our rating for language shouldn’t be above a 15.