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Censoring “obscenity”
1901
Australia
Initial censorship decisions determined whether imports were “blasphemous, indecent or obscene”.
Read more The Battle of Dingjunshan
1905
China
The first Chinese film was produced in 1905 as The Battle of Dingjunshan (also known as Conquering Jun Mountain, Ding Junshan), coinciding with the emergence of the classic Hollywood silent film era.
Zigomar
1911
Japan
The French film Zigomar, directed by Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset for the Société Française des Films Eclair, was imported into Japan in 1911, opening in the Asakusa district in November and leading to an array of locally produced sequel films and novels
Read more Bushranging films censored in New South Wales
1912
Australia
New South Wales was one of the first Australian states to make legislative provision for the censorship of films. The Police department who enforced film censorship found the bushranging genre objectionable.
Read more The British Board of Film Censors
1913
United Kingdom
The British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) were established in 1913 and originally used two categories to classify adult from child content – A and U.
Read more Film Censorship Begins in India
1918
India
In the 1920s, India imported almost 80 per cent of exhibited films from the United States (ICC 1928). The biggest importer was Jamshedji Framji (J.F.) Madan, who launched Madan Theatres Ltd. in 1919, turning to Hollywood to substitute for stagnating post-war European film industries.
Read more Cinematograph Act
1918India
The Cinematograph Act 1918 made it mandatory for exhibitors to secure a license from local civil authorities to screen a film, and for censorship to precede any film exhibited in India. Certified films would be deemed “suitable for public exhibition”.
Read more Damaged Goods and Social Hygiene Propaganda
1919
Films that depicted the outcomes of sexual activity, miscegenation and prostitution caused problems for censorship authorities utilising obscenity law.
Read moreBattleship Potemkin
1925
United Kingdom
This propaganda film commemorating the Russian revolution was censored in Britain for 29 years.
Read more Victorian Film Censorship Act
1926
Australia
The first age classification system was introduced by the Victorian Film Censorship Act.
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