Cinema

In the field of cinematography, ALIA is involved in the following areas:

• it monitors film classification and makes sure that cinema operators comply with and publish these classifications;
• it assesses the classification made by operators and may reclassify films, if deemed necessary, by a reasoned decision.

ALIA publishes the classification of films released in cinemas; this serves as an official list both for the public and for audiovisual media service providers.

The Law of 20 April 2009 on Admission to Film Screenings also stipulates that cinema operators should classify films in one of the following five categories according to their content:

• film suitable for all,
• film suitable for those aged 6 and over,
• film suitable for those aged 12 and over,
• film suitable for those aged 16 and over,
• film suitable for those aged 18 and over.

The factors taken into consideration when assessing the content of a film include: violence, horror, sexuality, discrimination on the basis of race, sex, opinion, religion or nationality, incitement to hatred, drug or alcohol abuse, inappropriate language, sensitive topics including suicide and family break-up, and the overall impact of the film or the images shown.

If a child aged 6 or over is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, he or she may be admitted to see a film rated in the category above his or her age.

The details of the investigation procedure regarding public film screenings are set down in the Authority's internal regulations. This regulation determines, inter alia, the Authority's complaints procedure as regards public film screenings as well as the procedure by which ALIA may investigate the latter on its own initiative.