Unclassified audio-visual content banned from showing on TV, effective May 1

From May 1, 2021, no television station, cinema, theatre or movie screening centre shall show any unclassified audio-visual content the Film Classification Committee (FCC) of the National Film Authority (NFA) has warned.

The FCC arrived at this conclusion upon several consultations with various stakeholders of the audiovisual industry in the country to make sure all audio-visual contents are previewed and classified before exhibition pursuant to the Development and Classification of Film Act 935.

A statement signed by the chairman of the FCC of the NFA, Socrate Safo indicated that “from 1st May 2021, no television station, cinema, theatre or movie screening centre shall show any unclassified audio-visual content.”

Such audio-visual content includes feature films, short films, TV series, selected TV programmes, documentaries, advertisements, music videos meant for public exhibition and broadcasting.

The statement further noted that “a right owner, licensee or assignee who desires to exhibit an audio-visual content shall submit the content to the Film Classification Committee for examination and classification at 21 days before the intended exhibition”.

The statement warned: “Anyone who fails to comply with the set rules shall be subject to the Offences and Penalties in Section 27 of the Development and Classification of Film Act 935”.