Films given age ratings in East Suffolk ahead of Latitude Festival
Unusual council powers have had to be used ahead of the screenings.
East Suffolk Council was required to use unusual powers to give age ratings to a series of films and short movies to be shown at Latitude Festival later this month in Henham Park.
Last week, Latitude organisers Festival Republic presented East Suffolk Council’s licensing sub-committee with one movie and five comedy shorts it is proposing to broadcast over the July 22-25 weekend, as they did not have age classification certificates in place.
Councillors watched the six films and gave 15 age ratings to five, with a 12 for one of them, all judged on the criteria used by the British Board of Film Classification.
Teresa Bailey, senior licensing officer at the authority said: “The arena comprises several arenas, one of which is the music and film tent.
“Films to be shown are new films that have not yet been given an official classification or been shown in the East Suffolk district, and Festival Republic have therefore made a request for the licensing authority to award them suitable classification.”
The films and age ratings given are:
Lit (15)
Alex Brooker’s comedy short (15)
Morgana Robinson’s comedy short (15)
Jonny Pelham’s comedy short (15)
Katherine Ryan’s comedy short (15)
Susan Wokoma’s comedy short (12)
Festival Republic had recommended 15 age brackets for all six, but the council’s committee said it did not feel there was anything offensive or controversial in the Susan Wokoma film that warranted a higher banding than 12.
The age ratings mean the festival must take responsibility for ensuring no under-age viewers watch those films in the same way as any cinema.
Latitude is being used as one of the Government’s test events for the re-opening of large events from the Covid-19 pandemic, with a full-capacity 40,000 strong crowd expected.
Festival-goers will be required to demonstrate proof of a negative lateral flow test 48 hours before attending, or proof of two vaccination jabs 14 days or more prior to the weekend.