| (1) | Films are classified into categories on the basis of: |
| (b) | Impact of the classifiable elements; and |
| (2) | All three requirements must be considered and content that is rated in any category should fulfil all stated requirements. Should it not, classifiers should consider the higher or lower category, depending on the merits. |
| (a) | The content does not contain any themes that may be disturbing, harmful, upsetting or inappropriate for any children. It has a low sense of threat or menace; |
| (b) | There are no classifiable elements in the film that justify a restrictive age classification; and |
| (c) | The release format has no impact. |
| (a) | The content does not contain any themes that may be disturbing, harmful, upsetting or inappropriate for any children. It has a low sense of threat or menace; |
| (b) | The content is not threatening, disturbing or harmful; |
| (c) | The theme causes no moral harm; |
| (d) | No impactful single or cumulative occurrences of classifiable elements; |
| (e) | Classifiable elements are not realistic; |
| (f) | The content contains classifiable elements that have a low impact, as set out below: |
| (i) | Criminal Techniques ‘CT’ – content may not contain any scenes of criminal techniques; |
| (ii) | Substance abuse ‘D’ – content may not contain any scenes of substance abuse, direct or implied; |
| (iii) | Horror ‘H’ – content only contains low impact scenes of horror; |
| (iv) | Imitative Acts and Techniques ‘IAT’ – content may contain scenes of low impact imitative acts and techniques; |
| (v) | Language ‘L’ – content may only contain scenes with low impact language; |
| (vi) | Nudity ‘N’ – content may only contain scenes of low impact nudity in nonsexual contexts; |
| (vii) | Prejudice ‘P’ – content may not contain scenes or language of prejudice; |
| (viii) | Sexual conduct ‘S’ – content may not contain any scenes of actual, simulated or implied sexual conduct, but may contain scenes of affection; |
| (ix) | Sexual violence ‘SV’ – content may not contain any scenes of actual or implied sexual violence; |
| (x) | Violence ‘V’ – content may contain only low impact violence, and may not contain any scenes of domestic violence; and |
| (g) | Limited accentuation techniques such as lighting, perspective and resolution. |
| (a) | The content must be particularly entertaining and/or of educational value, to enable parents or caregivers to decide whether it is appropriate for children in their care from ages 7 to 9 to see it. Children from the ages of 7 to 9 years are not allowed to watch a film classified ‘7-9PG’ unless and only when accompanied by an adult. |
| (b) | The content is not threatening, disturbing or harmful; |
| (c) | The theme causes no moral harm; |
| (d) | The content may contain complex and mature themes that may require parental guidance to mitigate potential harm; |
| (e) | Limited occurrences of significant classifiable elements; |
| (f) | Classifiable elements may be realistic; |
| (g) | The content contains classifiable elements that have a low or mild impact as set out below: |
| (i) | Criminal Techniques ‘CT’ – content may not contain any scenes of criminal techniques; |
| (ii) | Substance abuse ‘D’ – content may only contain low impact scenes of substance abuse if they are justified by the context or carry a suitable anti-substance abuse message; |
| (iii) | Horror ‘H’ – content may contain scenes of low impact horror. Fantasy setting may, when appropriate, be regarded as reducing impact; |
| (iv) | Imitative Acts and Techniques ‘IAT’ – content may contain scenes of low impact imitative acts and techniques; |
| (v) | Language ‘L’ – content may only contain scenes with low to mild impact language; |
| (vi) | Nudity ‘N’ – content may contain scenes of low to mild impact nudity in non-sexual contexts; |
| (vii) | Prejudice ‘P’ – content may contain scenes or language of prejudice of low impact, if it is clearly disapproved and used in an educational, dramatic or historical context; |
| (viii) | Sexual conduct ‘S’ – content may not contain any scenes of actual, simulated or implied sexual conduct, but may contain scenes of affection; |
| (ix) | Sexual violence ‘SV’ – content may not contain any scenes of actual or implied sexual violence; |
| (x) | Violence ‘V’ – content may contain only low to mild impact violence. If there are scenes of domestic violence, they must be justified within context, and the content must convey a strong message against it; and |
| (h) | Limited accentuation techniques such as lighting, perspective and resolution. |
(6) Moderate (10-12PG)
| (a) | The content must be particularly entertaining and/or of educational value, to enable parents or caregivers to decide whether it is appropriate for children in their care from ages 10 to 12 to see it. Children from the ages of 10 to 12 years are not allowed to watch a film classified ‘10-12PG’ unless and only when accompanied by an adult. |
| (b) | The content may be threatening, disturbing or harmful to children aged 10 and younger; |
| (c) | The theme causes no moral harm to children aged 10 and older; |
| (d) | The content may contain complex and mature themes that may require parental guidance to mitigate potential harm; |
| (e) | If the content has a pro-social element, even if assessed as a moderate impact it may be viewed by children 10 to 12-year-old in the presence of an adult; |
| (f) | Classifiable elements form part of a bona fide story line; |
| (g) | Single or cumulative occurrences of classifiable elements; |
| (h) | Occurrences of significant classifiable elements may be realistic; |
| (i) | The content either contains no classifiable elements or has a low to mild impact, with some elements having a moderate impact, as illustrated below: |
| (i) | Criminal Techniques ‘CT’ – content may not contain any instances of criminal techniques; |
| (ii) | Substance abuse ‘D’ – content may only contain low to mild impact occurrences of substance abuse. Any instances of moderate impact substance abuse must, contextually, carry a suitable anti-substance abuse message; |
| (iii) | Horror ‘H’ – content may contain scenes of mild to moderate impact horror; |
| (iv) | Imitative Acts and Techniques ‘IAT’ – content may contain instances of mild impact imitative acts and techniques; |
| (v) | Language ‘L’ – content may only contain instances of mild impact language; |
| (vi) | Nudity ‘N’ – content may contain scenes of low impact nudity; |
| (vii) | Prejudice ‘P’ – content may contain scenes or language of prejudice of low impact, if it is clearly disapproved and used in an educational, dramatic or historical context; |
| (viii) | Sexual conduct ‘S’ – content may contain scenes of low impact scenes of sexual conduct, but no scene of explicit sexual conduct. Verbal reference, but no visual presentation of sexual conduct with no noticeable effect; |
| (ix) | Sexual violence ‘SV’ – content may not contain any scenes of actual or implied sexual violence; |
| (x) | Violence ‘V’ – content may contain only mild to moderate impact violence. Verbal reference, but no visual presentation, of violence with no noticeable effect. If there are scenes of domestic violence, they must be justified within context, and the content must convey a strong message against it; and |
| (j) | May contain accentuation techniques such as lighting, perspective and resolution. |
| (a) | The content may be threatening, disturbing or harmful to children younger than 13; |
| (b) | The theme causes no moral harm to children aged 13 and older; |
| (c) | Single or cumulative occurrences of classifiable elements; |
| (d) | Occurrences of significant classifiable elements may be realistic; |
| (e) | Classifiable elements form part of a bona fide story line; |
| (f) | The content may contain low to mild impact classifiable elements, with some elements having a moderate impact, as set out below: |
| (i) | Criminal Techniques ‘CT’ – content may not contain any instances of criminal techniques; |
| (ii) | Substance abuse ‘D’ – content may only contain mild to moderate impact scenes of substance abuse. Any instances of moderate impact substance abuse must carry a suitable anti-substance abuse message; |
| (iii) | Horror ‘H’ – content may contain any scenes of moderate impact horror; |
| (iv) | Imitative Acts and Techniques ‘IAT’ – content may contain instances of mild impact imitative acts and techniques; |
| (v) | Language ‘L’ – content may only contain instances of moderate impact language; |
| (vi) | Nudity ‘N’ – content may contain scenes of mild impact nudity; |
| (vii) | Prejudice ‘P’ – content may contain scenes or language of prejudice of mild impact, if it is clearly disapproved and used in an educational, dramatic or historical context; |
| (viii) | Sexual conduct ‘S’ – content may contain scenes of mild to moderate impact sexual conduct, whether actual, simulated or implied, but no scenes of explicit sexual conduct. Verbal reference, but no visual presentation, of sexual conduct with no noticeable effect; |
| (ix) | Sexual violence ‘SV’ – content may contain scenes of low impact, implied sexual violence; |
| (x) | Violence ‘V’ – content may contain moderate impact violence. Verbal reference, but no visual presentation, of violence with no noticeable effect. If there are scenes of domestic violence, they must be justified within context, and the content must convey a strong message against it; and |
| (g) | May contain accentuation techniques such as lighting, perspective and resolution. |
| (a) | The content may be threatening, disturbing or harmful to children younger than 16; |
| (b) | The theme may not cause moral harm to children of 16 and older; |
| (c) | Single or cumulative occurrences of significant classifiable elements; |
| (d) | Occurrences of classifiable elements may be realistic; |
| (e) | Classifiable elements form part of a bona fide story line; |
| (f) | The content contains classifiable elements that have a moderate impact, with some elements having a strong impact, as set out below: |
| (i) | Criminal Techniques ‘CT’ – content may contain moderate impact criminal techniques; |
| (ii) | Substance abuse ‘D’ – content may contain moderate instances of substance abuse. Any instances of strong impact substance abuse must, contextually, carry a suitable anti-substance abuse message; |
| (iii) | Horror ‘H’ – content may contain scenes of strong impact horror; |
| (iv) | Imitative Acts and Techniques ‘IAT’ – content may contain instances of strong impact imitative acts and techniques; |
| (v) | Language ‘L’ – content may contain instances of strong impact language; |
| (vi) | Nudity ‘N’ – content may contain scenes of moderate impact nudity; |
| (vii) | Prejudice ‘P’ – content may contain scenes or language of prejudice of moderate impact, if it is clearly disapproved and used in an educational, dramatic or historical context; |
| (viii) | Sexual conduct ‘S’ – content may contain scenes of moderate impact or occasional strong impact sexual conduct, but no explicit sexual conduct. May contain brief details, close-ups or slow motion of sexual conduct. Verbal reference or visual presentation of sexual conduct may appear in the content which may have an impact; |
| (ix) | Sexual violence ‘SV’ – content may contain any scenes of actual sexual violence, but moderate sexual violence may be implied; |
| (x) | Violence ‘V’ – content may contain strong violence. May contain details, close-ups or slow motion of violence. Verbal reference or visual presentation of violence may appear in the content which may have an impact; and |
| (g) | May contain accentuation techniques such as lighting, perspective and resolution of sexually-related activity, sexual conduct or violence. |
| (a) | The content may be threatening, disturbing or harmful to children; |
| (b) | The theme may cause moral harm to children; |
| (c) | Single or cumulative occurrences of classifiable elements; |
| (d) | Occurrences of classifiable elements may be realistic; |
| (e) | May contain graphic details, close-ups or slow motion of sexually-related activity, sexual conduct or violence; |
| (f) | Verbal reference or visual presentation of certain classifiable elements such as sexually-related activity, sexual conduct or violence, but not explicit sexual violence; |
| (g) | Classifiable elements do not necessarily form part of a bona fide story line; |
| (h) | The content contains classifiable elements that have a strong to very strong impact, as set out below: |
| (i) | Criminal Techniques ‘CT’ – content may contain scenes of strong impact criminal techniques; |
| (ii) | Substance abuse ‘D’ – content may contain strong impact scenes of substance abuse; |
| (iii) | Horror ‘H’ – content may contain scenes of strong impact horror; |
| (iv) | Imitative Acts and Techniques ‘IAT’ – content may contain instances of very strong impact imitative acts and techniques; |
| (v) | Language ‘L’ – content may contain instances of very strong language; |
| (vi) | Nudity ‘N’ – content may contain scenes of strong impact nudity; |
| (vii) | Prejudice ‘P’ – content may contain scenes or language of prejudice of strong impact; |
| (viii) | Sexual conduct ‘S’ – content may contain occurrences of strong or very strong sexual conduct, but no explicit sexual conduct. Verbal reference or visual presentation of sexual conduct; |
| (ix) | Sexual violence ‘SV’ – content may contain occurrences of actual moderate to strong sexual violence if justified by context but no explicit sexual violence; |
| (x) | Violence ‘V’ – content may contain strong to very strong violence. Verbal reference or visual presentation of violence; and |
| (i) | May use accentuation techniques such as lighting, perspective and resolution. |
| (10) | Refused Classification |
| (a) | Any content that contains propaganda for war or incitement of imminent violence, or that advocates hatred based on any identifiable group characteristic, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm, must be refused classification and be reported to the Chief Executive Officer to be published the Gazette. |
| (b) | However, if judged within context, the content is a bona fide documentary or is a publication of scientific, literary or artistic merit, or is on a matter of public interest, it must be classified accordingly. |
| (c) | Any content that constitutes child pornography must be immediately reported to the South African Police Services by the Chief Executive Officer. There are no exceptions or exemptions for the possession, distribution, sale or hire of child pornography, which is illegal under all circumstances. |
| (11) | Restricted Distribution Content – XX |
| (a) | Films must be classified ‘XX’ if they depict the following, as set out in section 18 of the Act. |
| (b) | Explicit sexual conduct which violates or shows disrespect for the right to human dignity of any person; |
| (i) | Bestiality, incest, rape conduct or an act which is degrading of human beings; |
| (ii) | Conduct or an act which constitutes incitement of, encourages or promotes, harmful behaviour; |
| (iii) | Explicit infliction of sexual or domestic violence; or |
| (iv) | Explicit visual presentations of extreme violence; |
Unless judged within context, the film is a bona fide documentary or is of scientific, dramatic or artistic merit, or is on a matter of public interest, in which case the content shall be classified with reference to the relevant guidelines relating to the protection of children from exposure to disturbing, harmful or age-inappropriate content.
| (c) | The interpretation of 5(11)(b)(i)-(v) above includes instances of: |
| (i) | Detailed instruction or promotion of matters of crime or violence; |
| (ii) | Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of sexual conduct as well as harmful paraphilia; |
| (iii) | Any content, including scenes or dialogue, likely to encourage an interest in harmful paraphilia and sexual violence; |
| (iv) | Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of violence with an extreme impact or that are excessively frequency, prolonged or detailed, including cruelty to either humans or animals, or real scenes of violence that are very detailed and that have an extreme impact; |
| (v) | Detailed instruction in the use of proscribed drugs, and content promoting, or encouraging proscribed drug use; |
| (vi) | Apparent lack of consent for any party who participates in sexually related activity, sexual conduct or explicit sexual conduct and who appears to be non compos mentis (‘not of sound mind’- e.g. in a drug or alcohol-induced state, or mentally ill). |
| (d) | Any content that has been classified as ‘XX’ must be reported to the Chief Executive Officer to be published by notice in the Gazette, together with the reasons for the decision. |
| (12) | Restricted Distribution Content – X18 |
| (a) | Any content that contains explicit sexual conduct between consenting adults must be classified as ‘X18’ unless, judged within context, it is a bona fide documentary or is of scientific, dramatic or artistic merit, or on a matter of public interest, in which case it must be classified with reference to the relevant guidelines relating to the protection of children from exposure to disturbing, harmful or age-inappropriate contents. |
| (b) | Any content that, in addition to explicit sexual conduct, contains any content referred to in section 8(2) above and has an extreme impact, may be classified as ‘XX’; |
| (c) | Any content that is classified as ‘X18’must be notified to the Chief Executive Officer to be published by notice in the Gazette, together with the reasons for the decision. |
