The Filmmaker & Human Rights: In Aid of Amnesty International, Toronto, October 18-28, 1984

Joan McGrath is a Toronto Board of Education library consultant.

Forbidden Films is a document written in support of Amnesty International, in defence of freedom of expression in one of the areas most susceptible to censorship, that of filmmaking. Film is described as being “the most influential of all media” and therefore the one most likely to affect the behaviour of its public. Many reasons are offered for the banning or mutilation of film, among them the protection of community standards of morality or religion; enforcement of a dominant culture; and the protection or promotion of a given political regime. Some films recognized as valuable, even as masterpieces, in one country, province, or state may be banned or defaced in others. In one ironic case, Not A Love Story, made in protest against pornography in film, was banned because it included examples of objectionable pornographic material. These collected writings examine the many forms of censorship, and some of the particular films, especially those of the Third World, that have been affected. A section entitled “The Canadian Case” will be of particular interest to Canadian supporters who believe that this highly charged issue is of vital concern to all who agree with the authors that film-making, and the freedom of expression, are matters of grave and increasing importance.