The Video Appeals Committee (VAC) announced today the outcome of the appeal by eight distributors against the decision by the BBFC to pass nine video works 'R18'. The seven members of the VAC were unanimously of the view that the appeal should be dismissed.
The distributors submitted their works with a request for an '18' rating. The BBFC rated all of the works 'R18', the category reserved for sex works which are only available through licensed sex shops. The distributors appealed to the VAC under the terms of the Video Recordings Act 1984.
In upholding the Board's decision on the nine works the VAC in its Judgment expressed the opinion that “the material which is the subject of this appeal is not suitable for distribution other than in a sex shop. We have considered each video individually but in none of them do we find any grounds to change the classification. The Board has the onerous task of ensuring that material of this kind does not fall in the hands of children or the vulnerable and the fact that a person may not order it by mail in this country and must purchase it in person goes some way to enable the Board to discharge this duty.”
1. The nine works were Lubed, The Secrets of Kama Sutra, Ben Dover – Cumming of Age Volume Two, Heart of Darkness, Queensway Trailers, Dungeon Diva 2, Semi-Detached, Catering for all Tastes – Finger Buffet for Six and L'Elisir d'Amour.
2. The companies bringing the Appeal were: Prime Time Promotions (Shifnal) Limited, Ben Dover Productions, Hot Rod Productions Limited, Queensway Film Distribution, Premier Film Productions, Tongue in Cheek Limited, Solarnet Media Limited and Millivres Prowler Limited.
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20 July 2005