After a massive public outcry over the film Inxeba (The Wound), the South African Film and Publication Board has announced that it will in future consult traditional leaders before deciding on a rating for a movie that depicts cultural matters.
The decision came just days after the body overturned their rating for the controversial film from 16LS to X18 – effectively removing the movie from public viewing places.
Speaking in East London on Tuesday‚ FPB acting chief operations officer Abongile Mashele said they had a team of classifiers making sure content met guidelines before it went out to the public.
They admitted that while the board has a diverse panel of classifiers who determine how each movie‚ board game and publication is rated‚ they did not have any traditional experts.
“We have a total of 40 classifiers and we go to the ones suited for the particular content of a film. Just because a person is Xhosa‚ doesn’t mean they are experts but we will look into involving traditional leaders in future‚” she said.
The reviewed rating came as a result of complaints by the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa). The body had called for the banning of the film and as a secondary complaint asked that it be given a higher age restriction.
The film had received public backlash for its depiction of the traditional ritual of ukwaluka – a Xhosa tradition into manhood – as well as sexual identity in the form of a gay love story.
Protests against the film during its public screenings earlier this month forced several cinemas to close amid security concerns and forced some of the cast to move into safehouses.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 