This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick returns to the ICA with another provocative triumph. For thirty years, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has controlled who gets to see what in US cinema, having established an age-based ratings system presided over by its seemingly immovable chief Jack Valenti. However, a body that began as a lobbying organisation for the industry now wields a disproportionate amount of power over the potential futures of individual films, especially given that decisions are reached behind closed doors and those sitting in judgment remain anonymous and unaccountable. Interviews with the likes of John Waters, Darren Aronofsky, Atom Egoyan, Kevin Smith and South Park creator Matt Stone suggest that independent filmmakers suffer stricter censure than major Hollywood studios and that sex is more of a taboo than violence, giving these sometimes seemingly arbitrary decisions a political and cultural significance. In full, fearless investigative mode, Dick sets out with a pair of private detectives to uncover the secrets of the MPAA. Ultimately, the film is about censorship and freedom of speech, meaning that this Super Size Me for the cinema could have an impact beyond the film industry.

There will be a special screening of This Film is Not Yet Rated on Mon 18 Sept, followed by a discussion between critic Mark Kermode and David Cooke, director of BBFC.