Rogue filmmaker taps Kickstarter to force the ratings board to watch ten hours of paint drying
A filmmaker looked to protest an administration fee charged by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) crowdfunded and submitted a 12 hour video of paint drying.
Charlie Lyne launched the stunt to raise awareness of the £1,000 fee the BBFC will charge to classify an average length movie – a hurdle he argued stymied many young and aspiring producers in the UK.
Intent on forcing the board to watch the monotonous slog of paint drying, Lyne took to Kickstarter to raise the fee in November 2015.
His crowdfunder raised a total of £5,936, entitling him to have a 607 minute movie viewed by the censors. This study ran over to a second day due to its extensive length.
After all that, the board issued a U rating, meaning it suitable to watch with children.
£5,936 well spent. pic.twitter.com/DKfufcr4qk
— Charlie Lyne (@charlielyne) January 26, 2016
Lyne hinted that the movie may well not be as clean as the censors think, he said in a Reddit AMA: “Anyone who's seen Fight Club knows the appeal of the subliminal flash frame. BBFC examiners have definitely seen Fight Club (they censored it in 1999) so hopefully they're asking the same question you are and watching closely to make sure they catch anything untoward.
“As for algorithms and the like, the BBFC has reserved 607 minutes in its screening schedule to show the entire film, so I trust that they're not going to defraud me and go to the pub instead.”
On why he embarked on such an odd endeavour, he said: “About a year ago, I went to a filmmaker open day held by the BBFC at their offices in Soho. I'd expected to see quite a lot of conflict between the BBFC examiners and the visiting filmmakers whose work was at the mercy of the board, but there was nothing like that.
“Most of the filmmakers — even those who'd had trouble with the BBFC in the past — seemed totally resigned to the censorship imposed by the board, even supportive of it. I think that shocked me into action.”
Catch a teaser of the movie below,
Today's the day: two BBFC examiners are currently watching 'Paint Drying'. AMA: https://t.co/weVqKBnZzf pic.twitter.com/tTsS15176P
— Charlie Lyne (@charlielyne) January 25, 2016