Director of Censored HATE CRIME Hits Back at HuffPost’s Censure{0}
James Cullen Bressack, director of Hate Crime, which was last week denied a certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), has released an impassioned response to a Huffington Post article by Simon Thompson, which claimed that censors were right to ban the film.
“As a Jewish man, and a victim of anti -Semitic hate, I made a horror film that depicts the very thing that haunts my dreams,” the director commented. “As an artist I wanted to tell a story to remind us that we live in a dangerous world; a world where racial violence is on the rise. It saddens me to learn that censorship is still alive and well. As a fan of Simon Thompson’s work and the Huffington Post, I’m disappointed he didn’t see my movie. As a critic and journalist, you should at least see the film you are criticizing and do your research to learn that the filmmaker is Jewish.” That said, he added, “I have to admit that I do appreciate the press.”
“Like James, we are disappointed not to be able to bring Hate Crime to the UK as planned,” commented TheHorrorShow.TV’s Jack Bowyer. “However, we are pleased to announce that we are in the process of submitting some of James’s other films to the BBFC, so that we can bring this distinctive and important filmmaker’s voice to UK horror fans, along with other exciting titles under our partnership with Nerdly Presents.”
The BBFC announced last week Hate Crime, the first release in a new joint VOD venture between geek blog Nerdly.co.uk and TheHorrorShow.TV, had officially been banned in the UK. (See our blog post on the topic.) It is one of only four horror movies officially refused classification by the BBFC since 2009, the others being Grotesque, The Bunny Game and The Human Centipede 2, later released with nearly 3 minutes of cuts.
Hate Crime tells the story of a Jewish family, having just arrived in a new neighbourhood, who are recording their youngest son’s birthday celebrations on video when their home is suddenly invaded by a bunch of crystal-meth-crazed neo-Nazi lunatics.
The film is the second feature from director James Cullen Bressack (To Jennifer, Blood Lake, 13/13/13), and has already had a successful release in the US, reviewed favourably by the likes of Bloody Disgusting, MoreHorror and even the UK’s very own Starburst Magazine.
