The producers of Inxeba (The Wound) will fight the Film and Publication Board’s (FPB) X18 classification of the film in court, according to a report in the City Press.

The film’s producers accused the FPB of censorship and homophobia, stating it did not act according to its classification guidelines.

The SA Screen Federation intends to bring a legal challenge to the FPB over the issue, and said it is confident it will have the film’s rating changed.

Irregular

Former FPB film classifiers who spoke to the City Press called the reclassification of the film highly irregular and not in line with FPB guidelines.

“When it comes to sex, we have to look at explicitness. X is for extreme. It’s porn,” said a former FPB classifier.

“The guidelines say if sex is shown but is not explicit, it cannot be classified X. So I can only conclude this is censorship and it’s based on homophobia.”

Film-makers and actors also expressed their dissatisfaction with the X18 classification, labelling the decision “appalling”, “backwards”, and “an outrage”.

Following the X18 rating, the FPB released its Discussion Document on the Review of the Classification Guidelines, which stated that age restrictions in South Africa are too lenient and not appropriate.