MIRAL

MIRAL is a drama telling the stories of several generations of Palestinian women living through the occupation of their land since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The film was classified '12A' for moderate language, violence and injury detail.

The film contains aggressive and directed uses of the words 'bitch' and 'whore'. This moderate language exceeds the terms of the BBFC's 'PG' Guidelines, where there may be 'mild bad language only' and is therefore more appropriately classified at '12A'.

The film contains several sequences of documentary footage from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict depicting violence in military action and street riots that will be familiar from television news broadcasts. There is also one dramatised street riot scene in which a teenage girl is shot and killed. There is, however, little detail in these images which give a sense of the chaos and tragedy of the situation without presenting gratuitous displays of violence. The implied strangling of a character and the beating of a young woman with a stick, as part of an interrogation procedure by security forces, are also presented with discretion and without lingering on the details of the violence being inflicted. The Guidelines at '12A'/'12' state that 'Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context'. Injury detail is seen in a hospital setting with some sight of injured soldiers but this is not dwelt upon to any undue extent.

A key scene in the film involves the suggestion of a young teenage girl being sexually abused by an older male member of her family. The event dictates the path the girl's life will take and although it is briefly distressing, the abuse is not shown with strong detail and mostly plays off the frightened reactions of the girl's younger sister who is also in the room. The Guidelines at '12A'/'12' state that ‘Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification’.

The film also contains a discreetly implied suicide, scenes of smoking which are not glamorised to any significant extent, and milder language such as 'hell' and 'shit'.

Parents can find additional information about the content of this film if they visit www.pbbfc.co.uk.