BBFC Podcast

This International Women's Day we're celebrating all the talented and wonderful women who work at the BBFC. In this podcast, you can learn more about the inner workings of the BBFC and hear all about how women keep the wheels turning - in Compliance, Education, Finance and Communications - we talk to women from all corners of our business.

In the last episode of 2020, we're joined by our Chief Executive David Austin as we take a look back on a year of film. We talk about some of the biggest releases, streaming platforms and the impact of COVID on the industry.

As part of our Indian cinema and Bollywood takeover week, we've invited the BBC’s Ashanti Omkar FRSA to talk to us all about films that families can watch this Diwali. In the podcast, you can hear about the classification of films such as Panga, Taare Zammen Par and Kaaka Muttai at the U and PG category and find out about how the BBFC rates Hindi and Tamil language films in the UK.

Halloween might look a little different for most of us this year - so we're here to help you throw a spook-tacular movie night to celebrate! Our latest podcast is all about horror... at the PG category. We delve into classics, like The Witches, that have been frightening children for decades, as well as recent films like Scoob! and the latest telling of Pinocchio.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day, this podcast is all about how we classify WWII films. We talk in detail about films such as Saving Private Ryan & Dunkirk and tell you all about how you can use films to explore the impact of the war with your family.

What do Trolls World Tour, Bloodshot and The Invisible Man have in common? They’ve all been released to streaming services early so that you can watch them from the comfort of your own home during lockdown. Want to know more? Listen to this podcast, which takes you through some of these releases and gives you all of the classification knowledge you need, so you can sit and watch them either by you...

To mark our 100th podcast, we have teamed up with film critic, journalist and host of BBC’s Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, Mark Kermode, for a very special episode. So sit back and enjoy an open discussion between Mark and the BBFC’s Head of Compliance, Craig Lapper - as they delve into Mark’s relationship with film classification and discuss how the BBFC has changed over the years. The two also...

Teachers, are you looking forward to your last week of term? Together with our friends at Into Film, we've produced a podcast and some lesson plans with some ideas about how you can watch the beloved festive tale A Christmas Carol with your class. Whether you're a fan of Scrooge (1951), the Muppet's Christmas Carol (1992), or Jim Carey's A Christmas Carol (2009) we talk about the classification an...

“The 18 replaced the X in 1982, which in turn absorbed the H which stood for ‘horrific’ in 1951.” In the last episode of our mini series, we look at the history of the 18 category and its key classification issues. From ‘H’ films being restricted during WW2 to the 18 as it is today.

“More films are rated 15 today than at any other category.” In 1982 15 replaced the AA category and the category system as we know it today was created. What was different about the AA and why did it change? In the 15 podcast, we discuss exactly this and compare older 15s such as Poltergeist (1982) with more recent releases such as Hereditary (2018).

“The 12 was introduced, on film only, in 1989 to cover the large gulf between PG and 15.” Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Ghostbusters (1984) all have something in common, and it isn’t that they all start with G. All of these films were rated 12 or 12A. In this podcast, we discuss both categories and the wide range of audience they capture discussing classification issues such as discrimin...

Introduced in 1982, the PG replaced the old A classification that had existed since 1913.” In this episode, join us as we discuss the PG category. Find out why it was established and how best parents and families can navigate PG films. We also talk about a wide array of classification issues, from violence in films such as Horrible Histories (2019) to threat in Goosebumps (2015) and Lion (2016).

“The U category is the only classification to survive from the inception of the BBFC to now.” In the first of our mini series, we discuss the U category, how it has changed over the years and how we address historically classified U films such as Watership Down (1978) and Disney classics such as The Lion King (1994).

'I'll have what she's having' Rom Coms have given us some of the most memorable lines in cinematic history over the years. Whats your favourite? This podcast, we discuss some of the greats - When Harry Met Sally, Notting Hill and It Happened One Night - and give you some insight into the classifications of each film.

With exam season upon us, we have released a podcast to support students, teachers and parents in the lead up to this years media studies exams.

Wonder Woman. Hermione Granger. Moana. Elsa and Ana. Katnis. Gwen Stacy. What do all these wonderful women have in common? They all feature in our #InternationalWomensDay podcast celebrating women in film! Billie is joined by our Head of Education, Lucy, and compliance officer Ben talking about the best female led films to watch with your kids.

How does classification fit in to the ever changing way in which we consume content? We discussed this, and a number of other topics, with industry experts at the launch of our Classification Guidelines. You can listen to the whole discussion here.

In this episode Billie speaks to Ed, our Operations Manager and Preet a member of our compliance team about all things Oscars. The team discuss the 2019 nominations, as well as nominations of the past.

In this episode Billie is joined by Sarah and Ben from the BBFC compliance team to talk through a bumper pack of Christmas favourites, that are great to watch over the festive period. As well as making some special recommendations of their own.

In this episode we speak to Keith Lodwick the curator of Censored! Stage, Screen, Society at 50 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, a display which the BBFC contributed to in 2018. The podcast covers some of the iconic films highlighted in the exhibition, the BBFC archive and much more.

In this episode we discuss the classification of John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic, Halloween. As well as comparing the original to the classification of the newest Halloween directed by David Gordon Green, released in 2018. And as a treat (rather than a trick!), Billie also asks her guest what he will be watching this Halloween. Sound effects courtesy of Mike Koenig, Timothy and Saraspella www...

In this episode we look at how films are re-rated when they're sent in to the BBFC for a second time. We also speak about Heathers the 1988 Michael Lehmann film.

This episode is the first of our new BBFC Education Specials. Billie is joined by Lucy Brett, BBFC Head of Education and Matt Lane CEO and Artistic Director of Eastside Educational Trust. Eastside is a highly acclaimed arts education charity and one of London's leading youth arts provider. We are delighted to have supported Eastside as part of our charitable donations policy.

In this episode of the BBFC podcast we talk about Bollywood movies, in Particular Baahubali 2 and Sholay.

In this episode of the BBFC podcast we discuss Wonder Woman & Avengers Infinity War.