A Review written about the certificate given for This is England

An 18 for This is England? This is an outrage
My new film has been landed with a certificate which will mean those who need to see it most will not be able to.

Personal film... This is England
It's almost two years since we started shooting This is England and at last the film is nearly out, hitting cinemas here this weekend. I suppose it's my most personal film to date as the main character, Shaun Fields is loosely based upon me at a time in my childhood.
Shaun is a 12 year-old growing up in Thatcher's England when Rubik's Cubes, Doc Martens and political upheaval were all the rage. Shaun gets involved with a local skinhead gang after his father dies in the Falklands war and This is England tells of the repercussions that follow.
Everything has been going brilliantly. Last autumn the film won the special jury prize at the Rome Film Festival and best film at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), beating BAFTA winner The Queen. Thomas Turgoose, who plays Shaun, won the best newcomer award at the BIFAs too. We've had some amazing press and great reviews and everything was looking really positive.
Then, earlier this year, we heard that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had decided to give the film an 18 certificate for its use of "realistic violence and racist language". This means that the film is now unavailable to the audience it will benefit the most.
It's like I've somehow overachieved. By having one piece of violence and one piece of really acute verbal violence I've managed to get an 18 certificate, whereas someone else can slay thousands of people in a single film and that's OK. To be honest I don't understand it because, yes, the film is affecting but I think it's something that someone of 15 can cope with. It's not like it's a film about the 80s that has no value; it's incredibly relevant politically. It's as much about Iraq as it is about the Falklands. It's as much as about England in 2007 as it is about England in 1983.
The good news is that Bristol city council has overturned the BBFC's decision, giving the film a 15 certificate. We're hoping that more councils will follow shortly as there is a lot of support for the movie and incredulity at the BBFC verdict. Whether or not it will be accessible to the audience who need to see it the most remains to be seen.
As for me, I have a new deal with Warp Films, the production company behind This is England and my last film Dead Man's Shoes. My producer Mark Herbert and I have just had a great meeting with Film4 and EM Media about future projects. There are lots in the pipeline and we're all looking forward to getting started on the next one.
The Guardian