BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification. They are an independent company that are indepently ran and funded from their own profits and their website lists a range of aims that the company has...protect the public, and especially children, from content which might raise harm risksempower the public, especially parents, to make informed viewing choicesrecognise and respect adult freedom of choice within the lawrespond to and reflect changing social attitudes towards media content through proactive public consultation and researchprovide a cost-effective, efficient classification service within our statutory remitwork in partnership with the industry to develop innovative service models to provide content advice which support emerging media delivery systemsprovide an effective service to enforcement agencies If you were to sum up those points, it would tell you that they are the official company that give(primarily british) films their age ratings. I have placed a key of the age ratings to the right. Theratings are put in place to protect and enforce who watches what, things like horror films whichare not suitable for young children are given age ratings towards the foot of table and chirpy,maybe animated films will be given a U. Typically, two examiners view a film for theatrical release.In most cases a Senior Examiner will confirm the examiners’ recommendation. But if theExaminers are in any doubt or fail to agree, or if important policy issues are involved, the workmay be seen by other members of the Board up to, and including, the Director and Presidentialteam. The same process exists for DVDs and Blu-rays though generally these are seen by oneExaminer. They look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, dangerous and easily imitablebehaviour, language, nudity, sex, and violence when making decisions. The theme of the work isalso an important consideration. They consider context, the tone and likely impact of a work onthe potential audience. They also rate video games and mobile apps.The BBFC has infact taken over The Mobile Broadband group to prevent customers under the age of 18 to view any unsuitable content. The BBFC also works with a number of on demand services for example Blackberry, Itunes and Netflix, very popular teenage uses. These are called digital age ratings which provide trustworthy content available to download aswell as allowing parental control to prevent any inappropriate viewing for their childs age

BBFC RATING 

For our short film we decided to rate it as 15 due to the themes included, such as reference to death,alchocol abuse and strong language.Here i have answered common questions asked about a 15 rated film.

What does the 15 symbol mean?

 No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD.  15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

Are there any limits on what sort of theme a work can have at 15?

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Is 15 really stronger than 12A?

 Yes. 15 works are stronger than 12 or 12A rated works and could include any of the following:

• strong violence

• frequent strong language (eg 'f***').

• portrayals of sexual activity

• strong verbal references to sex

• sexual nudity

• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence

• discriminatory language or behaviour

• drug taking

How much strong language is there 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 (eg f***).

although continued or aggressive use of further swear words will not normally be passed 15.

What about discriminatory or offensive terms?

There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language, and the work could explore themes relating to this.

However, at 15 the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

How much sex and nudity is allowed at 15?

At 15 sexual activity can be portrayed, as long as there is no strong or graphic detail. Some sex scenes can be quite long at this category and may involve some nudity and movement. Though nudity may be allowed in a sexual context there should be no strong detail.