We refer to the interview given by Mr J.P. Portelli and carried in the last issue of The Malta Independent on Sunday (2 September), which contained a number of inaccuracies.

Mr Portelli said there are no censors anymore, only a board to classify film and stage productions and that censorship has been abolished, as he would not have accepted to become a member of the board if it were still censoring films. He is wrong because although the board did change its name to “Board of Film and Stage Classification” it still holds the right to ban a film from being exhibited in cinemas. Therefore Mr Portelli might wish to reconsider whether to remain a member of the board.

Furthermore, Mr Portelli seems to be proud that in the four years that he has been a member of the board, not a single second has been cut from any film. This is no thanks to him as no cuts were made in films released by KRS in the last 15 years and the majority of films which had cuts prior to 1992 were classified for adults. This shows that Mr Portelli’s comment of films being butchered to attract a wider audience is incorrect.

Contrary to what Mr Portelli implies, we, as distributors and cinema exhibitors, have never depended on, or expected the Board of Classification to solve the crisis of cinema attendances at the expense of the under 12 generation. The under 12 audience makes up only eight per cent of the total cinema attendance and what is expected from the board is that films are given the merited classification in line with the majority of other countries.

Since Mr Portelli found it necessary to quote classifications given to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in other countries, he should not have failed to mention the fact that most of them allow children to see the film if accompanied by an adult and in some countries without restriction as specified hereunder:

UK 12A Equivalent to PG in Malta

USA PG13 Equivalent to PG in Malta

Holland 12 Unrestricted

France U Universal

Italy T All admitted

Ireland 12A Equivalent to PG in Malta

Abroad, censors/classifiers respect parents’ responsibilities, here we take them (the parents), by the hand and instruct them on what is good for their children. Very paternalistic indeed!

Mr Portelli goes on to say, that every time a blockbuster comes to the screen, there is always pressure to give it a ‘U’ certificate. Statistics show that this pressure is only in his imagination, so much so that out of 29 blockbusters released so far this year, only four appeals were lodged –Pirates of the Caribbean at World’s End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Simpsons and Transformers – none of which obtained a ‘U’ classification. Although we are living in a country placed as the 15th most democratic country in the world, where dialogue is portrayed as the forte of the present government, film distributors are forbidden to discuss or express an opinion when it comes to classifying films, let alone exert pressure on the board for a ‘U’ classification.

We are of the opinion that the time has come for film classification categories to be reviewed, as was the case when boards chaired by Lino Cassar and Anthony Muscat, were influential in introducing the ‘18’, ‘PG’, and ‘12’classifications.

Charles Pace

Director

KRS Film Distributors Ltd