SCREENING CENSORSHIP CONFERENCE
Events

Screening Censorship Conference stages three events and screening sessions, in conjunction with the Film Fest Ghent:

 

cinema portugal

1. CENSORSHIP IN PORTUGAL:
ALGUNS CORTES

We are proud to present a special screening of Cinema: Alguns Cortes Censura I, II and III (2014-2015) by Manuel Mozos, introduced by the filmmaker together with collaborator Margarida Sousa. These documentaries offer a revealing look into practices of censorship under the dictatorship of Antonio Alazar in Portugal.

As the Institute of Contemporary Arts noted: amongst the films’ highlights are summaries of cuts that showcase “the willful deletion of all manner of scenes containing a female presence. As can be imagined, the presence of women in shots that could rouse desire or suggest any form of emancipation allowed for a veritable slicing machine, under whose scissors passed not only British and American movies, but also films from the golden age of Italian cinema.”

Mozos’ and Sousa’s documentary series has been praised as not only an incisive account of censorship in action, but also as a record of film distribution in Europe between World War II and the end of the Cold War.

 
TANK GIRL

2. 25th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF
TANK GIRL

Tank Girl is now a beloved cult movie, but its inception, production and reception were marred by controversies, incidents, interference, and obstructions.

Starring Lori Petty (Point Break), and featuring Ice-T (Body Count), Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), a young Naomi Watts (), and mutant kangooroos, Tank Girl was one of the first female-led action hero movies, with a cynical but good-hearted kick-ass riot girl fighting corporate greed with a tank, all the while sporting Brit-pop fashion and a wicked sense of humor. Spoiler: water wins!

We are excited to show the film’s original version, from 1995, introduced by director Rachel Talalay. She will share behind-the-scenes stories about inspirations and challenges that made Tank Girl what it is now, and discuss interventions in story-writing and execution, from the original, highly controversial comic books from the Thatcher-era to MGM’s executive interferences and the hiccups of the film’s initial and long-term receptions.

Click here for a trailer announcing shout factory’s recent 4k BLU RAY version.

 
BELGIUM CINEMA

3. BELGIAN CINEMA:
CUT UNCUT

Join us for a trip across the cinema sensitivities of Belgium. Film archivist Bruno Mestdagh and film historian Daniel Biltereyst made a creative selection of these cuts, which we are delighted to present. The small kingdom of Belgium had a unique film censorship system. In fact, there was never an obligatory system of adult film control. On the contrary, the Belgian constitution stated that censorship was forbidden. But, instead of installing a centralized system of a systematic control of film content, the Belgian parliament voted a law on protecting children, stating that children simply were not allowed to enter a cinema and watch films, unless these films were controlled by a state film board. The result was that, due to a commercial logic, most distributors submitted their material to the board. And this board turned out to be a very severe censor, cutting heavily into films. Some of these cuttings are now in the Belgian Royal Film archive in Brussels.

 

 

Ghent University
Film Fest Gent

University of British Columbia