A Canadian horror-comedy, Father’s Day has been refused classification (RC) by the Australian Government Classification Board two days before it was scheduled to screen at the Monster Fest Film Festival at Melbourne’s Cinema Nova.
“This is an outrageous decision” comments Festival Director and Monster Pictures Manager Neil Foley ‘Yes Father’s Day is an edgy film, but it is an hilarious and over-the-top spoof that, despite it’s gore, is actually one of the sweetest films in the Monster Fest program!”
Father’s Day was due to screen this coming Sunday at 8.00pm following on from another Canadian film by the same filmmakers, MANBORG.
Father’s Day tells the story of a one-eyed vigilante named Ahab who sets out to stop the murderous rampage of a psychopath dubbed “The Father’s Day Killer”
At this stage the Classification Board have not disclosed their reasons for the banning of the film. Their official site simply states that:
The film is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Films Table, 1. (a) as films that “depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.
Father’s Day has been granted an 18+ certificate by the British Board of Film Classification, despite being historically even more conservative than their Australian counterparts.
Produced by Canadian collective Astron-6 and distributed by Melbourne based Monster Pictures, Father’s Day has been a hit at festivals across the globe, winning numerous awards including ‘Best Film’ at the prestigious Toronto After Dark Festival.
Father’s Day screened earlier this year at Sydney’s Night of Horror Film Festival’ where it won awards for ‘Best Feature Film’ and ‘Best Director’ as well as numerous other awards. The film had been granted a temporary festival exemption by the Classification Board on the occasion of the Sydney screening.
“This is yet another example of the draconian censorship in this country. Laws that restrict Australian adults from viewing legally produced materials that are freely available in the rest of the world are an embarrassment and need to be overhauled immediately” says Dean Bertram, Director of the Night of Horror Film Festival.
The scheduled Sunday evening screening of Father’s Day will be replaced by another Canadian film Dead Hooker in a Trunk whose co-directors Jen & Sylvia Soska, are currently in Australia to promote their new film American Mary. Dead Hooker in a Trunk and American Mary will be presented by the sisters at Monster Fest and accompanied by a Q&A sessions. American Mary will be released nationally in theatres this month.
Tickets to Monster Fest are still available. Go to their website to purchase.
