The controversial film Inxeba (The Wound) will not be screened at Pulp Cinema for the annual US Woordfees until a verdict classifying the movie as “pornography” is overturned.
The film, which tells the story of a gay factory worker who finds himself in the Eastern Cape for the Xhosa initiation process, has been rated X18.
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) Appeals Tribunal also found the film not to have any “scientific, educational and artistic value”.
The film has however won 19 awards at 44 festivals worldwide, was nominated for 8 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA) and was even shortlisted in the category for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
Pulp Cinema owner Werner de Swardt said that his cinema does not own the legal license to screen the film.
“Because the film received this ridiculous classification as ‘adult entertainment’ and is placed in the same category as pornography, Pulp Cinema can legally not screen it anymore,” he said.
“It is not that Pulp does not want to screen the film. In fact, we would be very happy to show the film at our venue.”
Producers Elias Ribeiro and Cait Pansegrouw filed an urgent interdict to overturn the ruling, but it is not clear whether the classification will be overturned in time for the first Woordfees screening on 4 March.
Danie Marais, public relations officer of Woordfees and coordinator organiser of Filmfees, said on Wednesday morning that no verdict has been reached yet.
“We assured the producers of Inxeba that we will not screen the film until a verdict has been reached,” Marais said. “To screen the film might have a negative impact on the court case,” he added.
PEN Afrikaans, a writer’s organisation, released a statement that they strongly disagree with the X18 rating given to the film. The statement reads that former president Nelson Mandela “wrote in lyrical and explicit detail about his own [Xhosa] initiation”, yet there is no age restriction on his autobiography.
Screenings of Inxeba has been postponed at NuMetro theatres and Ster Kinekor also withdrew the film from some of their Eastern and Western Cape cinemas.
The poster of controversial film ‘Inxeba (The Wound)’ SOURCE: da.org.za