BBFC Certificate // Research

As part of a promotional package a distributor will show a BBFC Certificate for the film. BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification. The BBFC decide what age you have to be to be able to view a film, with the aim to protect children from harmful, unsuitable content. My target audience is teenagers and young adults so I need to decide what certificate my trailer will be. To get a better idea of what certificate I will choose I have decided to research what each certificate means and includes/involves.

12 Certificate 

A 12 certificated film means that material in the film is not suitable for children under 12. Therefore, children over 12 may watch a 12 film without an adult (a 12A film requires an adult to accompany the child). Some tragedy films (e.g. The Lovely Bones) are classified 12, but this is more unusual as tragedy films tend to include more mature themes. A film certificated a 12 includes:
- Moderate language, sex references and violence
- Infrequent strong language




15 Certificate

A 15 certificated film means that teenagers must be over the age of 15 to watch the film. This is generally because the levels of language, violence, etc. are much stronger. Black Swan is a good example of a tragedy film certificated 15 and I believe this is the most common certificate for tragedy films as it allows the content of the film to be more mature which generally more teenagers and young adults (my target audience) will relate to. A film certificated a 15 includes:
- Frequent strong language, sexual nudity, and strong violence
- Discriminatory language or behaviour
- Drug taking


18 Certificate




An 18 certificated film means that you must be over the age of 18 to watch the film. This is much more unusual in tragedy films but can happen if the content is particularly disturbing or offensive for some people. A film certificated 18 includes:
- Very strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, and strong horror
- Real sex (in some circumstances) and scenes of sexual horror
- Strong blood and gore



Following this research I believe the idea of my film could be suited for the age 12 certificate however I may use content that comes under the 15 certificate. As well as this young adults will probably be more interested in a film that is rated 15 as it will probably have more themes that interest them. With the aim of attracting as much of my target audience as possible it is likely that I will choose to certify my film as a 15 as this allows me to include more mature content. By making this decision I will make sure I do not include content that applies to the 18 certificate (e.g. strong horror).