Old film banned over child porn fears

A 30-year-old award-winning Swedish film has been banned from Australia because of child porn concerns.

The Classification Review Board effectively issued the ban after refusing to classify the art house film, Children's Island.

The 1980 film, by acclaimed director Kay Pollak, focuses on an 11-year-old boy dealing with puberty and contains scenes in which he is naked and depicted masturbating.

It won Sweden's most prestigious film prize, the Guldbagge, when it was released and was included in the country's official selection for the 54th Academy Awards, according to Fairfax Media.

The Classification Board's decision to ban it in Australia was handed down last October but apparently was not reported until now.

Fairfax said there was no evidence the film had been refused classification in other countries.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority referred the film to the board last year after receiving a complaint.

The classification board originally gave the film an R18+ rating but this decision reportedly was overturned on appeal following an application by the Australian Federal Police.

The board ruled the 49-second masturbation sequence, which includes a shot of the boy's erect penis, was likely to cause offence.

Anyone now caught buying, selling or showing the film publicly will face fines of up to $275,000 and a maximum 10-year jail sentence.

Source: Fairfax

Author: Erin Tennant, Approving editor: Natasha Lee