Age Certificate Research

When planning our opening it became apparent to us that we had to think about what kind of themes we wanted to involve within it as we were aware that certain themes are only acceptable in certain age certificates. With this being said we began looking into the different age certificates and what sort of themes are listed within them...

Age 12/12A:
Works classified as 12 contain material that is not always suitable for children who are younger than 12. No one younger than 12 is permitted to view a 12A film in a cinema unless they are accompanied by an adult. Adults taking a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child. There is some allowance of swearing however it can not be excessive and must be used in context.The topic of sex may be briefly and discreetly mentioned, nudity is allowed however nudity in a sexual context should be discreet also.As for violence, it is permitted as long as it isn't overly detailed. There should be no emphasis on injuries however occasional gory scenes are permitted if it fits in with the context. Action sequences and weapons are permitted but weapons easily accessible to 12 year olds (such as knives) should not be glamorised. Sexual violence such as rape or assault may only be implied briefly, they also need to have a strong contextual justification. 

Age 15:
No one under the age of 15 is allowed to see a 15 rated film at the cinema or purchase one. There are a range of topics that are permitted within a 15 certificate film, these include;strong violence, frequent strong language (e.g. '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 and drug taking. Although the themes within an age 15 film are able to be more lenient than those in a 12, they are too sometimes limited as to the amount of detail allowed to be contained within it and usually need to relate to the context.



                      Age 18:
18 certificate films are made for adults. No one under the age of 18 is allowed to view an 18 film at the cinema or purchase one. They are not suitable for children. 18 rated films are the most lenient of them all in the fact that they can contain more detailed/controversial subjects. These rated films can include; very strong violence, frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’), strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore,  real sex (in some circumstances)and discriminatory language and behaviour. 

As our video is only the opening of our film, it is almost impossible to even include all of the themes mentioned. However, we feel that an age 15 certificate is most suitable for our film. We believe this is an appropriate certificate for our film as we are producing a psychological thriller which may be difficult for anyone under the age of 15 to comprehend. It may also emotionally effect anyone younger than age 15 therefore, having the age certificate as 15 will hopefully prevent anyone younger than that from watching it.  

Take a look at the BBFC website for a more detailed look into age certification: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/