Description: A journal by documentary filmmaker Sean McAllister
Documentary filmmaker Sean McAllister has said he saw “empowerment” in the faces of children who came to a free screening of his latest film, which was held in protest at the age rating it has been given by censors. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has issued guidance that McAllister’s A Northern Soul should not be seen in cinemas by young people under the age of 15.
The factual film follows the story of warehouse worker Steve Arnott, from Hull. Arnott is struggling to raise money while funding his social enterprise project, a hip hop bus that he drives around disadvantaged communities in the Yorkshire city. McAllister’s film was shot in 2017, when Hull was UK City of Culture.
The BBFC deemed that the language in the film was too strong for it to be given a 12A certificate, which would allow younger children to watch it with a guardian. McAllister attended a free 12A screening of A Northern Soul in Hull on Tuesday. The film can be shown in the city with a lower rating as its council had independently classified it before the BBFC published its guidance.