The IFC Original Documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated opens in limited release Friday, Sept. 1, and will roll out in select markets across the country through October. The film is an unprecedented investigation into the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) film rating system and its profound influence on American culture including its impact on representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in film.

This Film is Not Yet Rated is directed by Oscar-nominee Kirby Dick (Twist of Faith) and asks whether Hollywood movies and independent films are rated equally for comparable content, and whether sexual content involving LGBT characters faces tougher scrutiny by the MPAA. The MPAA is the trade organization of the six major film studios, which indicates age-based content classification using the letter grades G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17.

"Films with gay or lesbian sexuality are rated more strictly than films about straight sexuality," says director Kirby Dick. "After our film premiered at Sundance, Kori Bernard, the spokesperson for the MPAA, was asked about this bias. She replied: 'We don't set the standards. We just reflect them,' which I found very revealing. What if this society's standards were racist? Would the MPAA rate films about African-Americans more strictly? What if the standards were anti-Semitic? Would they rate films about Jews more harshly? Her response was a tacit admission that a homophobic bias is built into the ratings system."

"This film provides a valuable opportunity for people to acknowledge and confront the double standard the MPAA places on films with gay content," says Damon Romine, entertainment media director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "We hope this leads to an overhaul of a system that has compromised honest depictions of gay people and relationships for far too long."

While Dick says he had no trouble finding stories of filmmakers who had first-hand experience with the MPAA's "often arbitrary and clandestine ratings system," getting filmmakers to speak on camera was another matter, as some feared being penalized in the future. Others, however, were willing to have their stories told. Jamie Babbit, director of But I'm a Cheerleader, tells Dick she felt discriminated against by the MPAA for making a film about gay teenagers. Director Kimberly Peirce is interviewed about the process she went through to get the MPAA to lower its initial rating of Boys Don't Cry from NC-17 to R.

Directors John Waters (A Dirty Shame), Kevin Smith (Clerks), Matt Stone (South Park) and Atom Egoyan (Where the Truth Lies) also share their experiences with the ratings board. In addition, a key figure in the film is openly gay detective Becky Altringer of Ariel Investigations, who helped the director research the MPAA.

The MPAA gave This Film is Not Yet Rated an NC-17 rating. Because this rating can greatly inhibit the distribution and success of a movie, IFC Films will release the documentary as unrated. It will premiere on IFC TV in January 2007.

To see the scheduled release dates of This Film is Not Yet Rated click here.

For Media Inquiries, Contact:

Erik Batt
IFC TV
(917) 542-6336
E-mail: ejbatt@ifctv.com

Steve Beeman
Falco Ink
(212) 445-7100
E-mail: stevenmbeeman@falcoink.com

Damon Romine
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(323) 634-2012
E-mail: romine@glaad.org

Multimedia Clip:

CNN Showbiz Tonight
This Film Is Not Yet Rated director Kirby Dick says the movie ratings system has a "homophobic bias" [ watch ]

Related Resources:

This Film is Not Yet Rated Official Site
www3.ifctv.com/thisfilm/about.php

Motion Picture Association of America
www.mpaa.org/

Related Articles:

ComingSoon.net - August 28, 2006
Exclusive: This director is not yet rated

The Guardian - August 20, 2006
Come on, America, it really is time to grow up

Rolling Stone - August 2006
Review: This Film is Not Yet Rated

Fox News - December 9, 2005
Ratings debate peaks again with Brokeback

CNN.com - August 23, 1999
MPAA ratings system gets 'F' from critics, filmmakers