The decision to pass Sweet Sixteen at 18 turned out to be a controversial one, with attacks made against the BBFC by the film’s director Ken Loach, who felt that passing the film at such a high category would prevent the people who could most closely identify with the characters in the film, from going to see it, and that such language was much more commonly used, and therefore less offensive, in the part of Scotland where the film was set. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable'. The strongest terms (for example, 'cunt') may be acceptable if justified by the context. This was confirmed in the public consultation carried out in 2004 and is reflected in the published Guidelines that state that 'There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, 'fuck'). ‘c**t’ and ‘motherf***er’) should be limited. This showed very clearly that strong language within films was still very much an issue with many members of the general public, with approximately 70% feeling that at 15 the strongest language (e.g. In the case of Sweet Sixteen, the examiners who classified the film felt that the sustained level of strong language – especially the multiple aggressive uses of ‘c**t’ – placed the work more suitably within the 18 category.įor the BBFC this defining issue was supported by the public consultation the BBFC conducted in 1999. Under current BBFC Guidelines, multiple uses of the word ‘f**k’ usually only warrant a 15 certificate, but even a single aggressive use of the word ‘c**t’ can lead to an 18 certificate. However, the key classification issue for the BBFC was strong language - the film’s screenplay containing the harsh colloquialisms of Greenock’s roughest estates. The film deals with poverty, violence, drug dealing and teenage crime. The film was submitted to the BBFC for classification in June 2002 and was released in the UK in October of the same year. This gritty, realistic portrayal of contemporary working class life by the acclaimed British director Ken Loach gained much critical acclaim nominated for the prestigious Palme d’or and winning best screenplay award at the Cannes film festival. The film Sweet Sixteen deals with the life of teenager Liam (Martin Compston), growing up in the tough estates of Greenock, Scotland.
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