25/11/2002 - Blandine Kriegel, the author of a report on violence and TV, walks out of the "Europa Cinemas" debate on cinema and censorship

The round-table discussion on “Cinema and young audiences: education, protection and censorship” organised at the annual Europa Cinemas meeting for theatrical exhibitors was enlivened by an unexpected event.
Philosopher Blandine Kriegel, the president of “The Commission investigating Violence in Films”, and author of a controversial report on violence and young audiences surprised the participants when she contradicted herself - and the report that she presented to the French Minister for Culture last week - by saying that all films aired after the 22.30 watershed should carry a “16+” rating instead of the current “12+”. It was a curious statement, not least because in her report, Kriegel came out in favour of the "16+" rating. Blandine then walked out of a discussion about a planned reform to the French ratings system.
The next day, she again walked out in the middle of a live radio programme called “Still”, broadcast on France 5, while director Jean-Jacques Beneix was speaking.
In her absence, the “Europa Cinemas” discussion continued and focused on specific examples of film ratings. While Amélie was given a “universal” rating in France, this popular film came out in Portugal and the United Kingdom, with, respectively, a "12 or over" and "15 or over" rating. Robin Duval, head of the British Board of Film Classification explained that Britain tends to focus on bad language and violence that is presented in a way that the spectator might find appealing and wish to emulate.
Wim Bekkers, head of Holland’s NICAM said that the Dutch method concentrated on filtering the images by means of a questionnaire that analysed key issues like fear, use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, sex, violence, discrimination and bad language. The Dutch approach was found to be diametrically opposite to that adopted in France where decisions are made only after extenuating discussions with representatives from the competent ministries, industry operators and the public health sector, as well as with the Superior Audiovisual Council.
The diversity of methods presented induced MEP and president of Intergroupe Cinema, Ruth Hieronymi, to conclude that “as far as censorship is concerned, each country should maintain its independence.”

(Translated from French)