13 July 2004
Anatomy of Hell Screenings To Go Ahead
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards has failed in its attempt to halt screenings of the controversial
French film Anatomy of Hell, Film Festival organisers learnt late yesterday afternoon.
The decision by the President of the Film and Literature Review Board to decline the Society’s application for an
injunction, was welcomed by Festival director Bill Gosden. “It’s probably vain to hope that this knock-back will
persuade the Society that the door that decision by the President of the Film and Literature Review Board to decline the
Society’s application was opened to them briefly two years ago when they successfully disrupted the Incredible Film
Festival, is now closed.
Their persistent attempts to undermine the credibility of the Classification Office and to suggest that the Film
Festival promotes the degradation of women and the exploitation of children are not only tiresome. They are also
expensive to the taxpayer. Anyone wishing to show a film publicly in this country is obliged to meet the costs of
censorship in the name of the public good. Anyone wishing to prevent a screening has the substantial costs of servicing
their complaint, no matter how unfounded or misguided, subsidised by the taxpayer.”
“As always, the Society’s attempts to suppress a film have had the opposite effect,” says Gosden. “Anatomy of Hell has
now sold out its Saturday night screening in Auckland. There are tickets still available for the other sessions.”
ENDS