Sticking to the law
Some of these words 'censorship', 'fascism' and 'thought police' have been used synonymously with the Film and Publications Board.
While the industry was still reeling from the news, the FPB dropped another bombshell by banning 'The look of love'. I have been watching the industry commentators go on overdrive, but it seems no one has conceded the fact that maybe the FPB has a case.
The duty of a filmmaker is not just to be insanely creative but also to know the laws of the country that affect his craft. From the back of my mind I have an idea of what constitutes child pornography and if I was making a film that deals with under age sex I was going to put aside 30 minutes of pre-production research time for this subject. The law was there before Qubeka made his movie, Qubeka put himself in a corner and then cries foul when the law take its course.
According to FPB, Child pornography includes "as any image, however created, or any description of a person, real or stimulated, who is, or who is depicted, made to appear, look like, represented or described as being under the age of 18 years".
Lots of the argument is that the actress Petronella Tshuma who plays the character of a schoolgirl having an affair with the teacher is a 23 year old woman with a child, so it can not be child pornography.
Old as she may be, Petronella is depicted as a child, as you watch that movie you are going to see a child having sex with an old man. I am sure a lot of work went into making a 23 year old look 16, the make-up, wardrobe, lighting and acting were made to be convincing.
Some commentators argue that 'as adults we do not need FPB to tell us what we can or cannot watch'. In some extent I totally agree, but with the increase in child rape, child pornography and child sex slaves in the country it seems common sense is not that common.
Children need to be protected and FPB did well. The Film and Publications Act was passed for a reason, and the board should not be bullied into giving in to individual demands.
