A Northern Soul on Newsday
Sean McAllister on the BBC World Service radio show Newsday discussing the decision of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to classify A Northern Soul as a ’15’.
Tag: BBFC
The Big Issue
Sean McAllister fears that kids won’t be able to watch his portrayal of poverty in Hull’s poorest areas “because the f-word’s used” and has appealed to the BBFC to re-rate it as a 12A
Director Sean McAllister has slammed the decision to give his documentary depicting poverty in Hull a 15-rating as “insulting and devastating”. A Northern Soul follows warehouse worker Steve Arnott as he brings his hip hop bus venture to disadvantaged children in Hull’s poorest areas while navigating poverty himself.
Sean, whose 2015 documentary A Syrian Love Story earned him a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer, intends to appeal the board’s decision, and has requested a formal list of all the required cuts that would identify which four uses of strong language would be suitable for a 12A rating. He said: “I’d hate to recut it and use the wrong fucks.”
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Read the full article on the Big Issue website
A Northern Soul Got A “15” Rating. That’s Offensive
“If you get a chance to see A Northern Soul at the cinema, do it…The director, Sean McAllister, has an eye for detail and his camera finds the beauty, and more importantly, the dignity of people and places that are usually invisible on the screen. McAllister’s gift is to give access to a world that is at once local and foreign. Yes, if you get a chance to see A Northern Soul, you should. Unless, of course you are 15 and under. In that case the BBFC has ruled that you are not allowed to.”
Read the full article on the Black Unicorn blog.