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Bangladesh Film Certification Board

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Bangladesh Film Certification Board
Formation1977
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
Region served
Bangladesh
Official language
Bengali
Websitewww.bfcb.gov.bd

The Bangladesh Film Certification Board is a regulatory agency that is responsible for the censorship of movies and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[1]

Predecessor

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The censor board was set up in 1977 following the framing of Bangladesh Censorship of Film Rules.[1] The agency is responsible for the censorship of locally produced movies and foreign imports, and acts as the registrar of film clubs in Bangladesh.[2] Martuza Ahmed, the secretary of the Ministry of Information, is the ex-officio chairman of the board.[3] In 2015, the board blocked My Bicycle, the first film in the Chakma language (a minority language) in Bangladesh.[4] It also blocked a movie about the Rana Plaza building collapse in which more than a thousand garment workers died.[5][6] Another movie was banned in which the villain wore a Mujib coat, a style associated with the founding president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib.[7]

Administratively, the Film Censor Board operated under the supervision of a chairman, who oversaw a vice-chairman, a secretary, and six directors.[8]

In 2024, the Film Censor Board was abolished based on demands from filmmakers, and in its place, the Certification Board was established. It consists of 15 members chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.[9]

Amendment

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The Bangladesh Film Censorship Board was established through advertisements under Section 3 of the Censorship of Films Act, 1963 (Amendment up to 2006), and Rule 4 of The Bangladesh Censorship of Films Rules, 1977.[10]

The Bangladesh Film Certification Act 2023 was published as a significant change, establishing methods and conditions for film certification for Bangladesh's film and television institutions. The law was gazetted by the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, on 13 November 2023, according to the President's approval.[11]

In 2023, Act No. 52, the Censorship of Films Act, 1963, was repealed and replaced by a timely revision, reissued under the name Bangladesh Film Certification Act, 2023.[12]

Establishment

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On September 22, 2024, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Bangladesh issued a notification establishing the "Bangladesh Film Certification Board" by dissolving the Censor Board and forming a committee of 15 distinguished members. The board will be chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.[13]

Among its founding members are the President of the Bangladesh Film Directors' Association,Film Professors of the Independent University, Bangladesh and filmmakers/researchers Dr. Zakir Hossen Raju, producer Rafiqul Anwar Russell, filmmaker Zahid Hossen, film editor Ikbal Ehsanul Kabir,Actor Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed, filmmaker Khijir Hayat Khan, and filmmaker Tasmiya Afrin Mau. Additional members include the Senior Secretary/Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Press Secretary of the Principal Adviser's Office, Additional Secretary (Film) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a representative from the Department of Public Safety, and the Managing Director of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation.[14][15]

Notably, on September 17, the positions of the Censor Board were withdrawn by Actor Shabnam, filmmaker Ashfaque Nipun and writer Mohammad Nazim Uddin.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hayat, Anupam. "Film Censorship". Banglapedia. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Bangladesh Film Censor Board". www.bfcb.gov.bd. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Bangladesh Film Censor Board". bfcb.gov.bd. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Bangladesh's Censor Board Blocks the Country's First Chakma-Language Film". globalvoices.org. Global Voices. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Bangladesh Censor Board blocks 'Rana Plaza' from cinemas". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh court bans movie on Rana Plaza factory disaster". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Film banned as villain wears Mujib coat". The Daily Star. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Members of the Film Censor Board Committee". Somoy TV. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  9. ^ "সেন্সর যুগের অবসান, গঠিত হল চলচ্চিত্র সার্টিফিকেশন বোর্ড".
  10. ^ "Proposal to present the Bangladesh Film Certification Law in Parliament". dhakapost.com (in Bengali). 17 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Bangladesh Film Certification Bill, 2023 passed in Parliament". Noyashotabdi. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Bangladesh Film Certification Bill passed in Parliament". amadershomoy.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Controversial film 'censor' board transformed into 'certification' board". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Govt forms film certification board". Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Certification board to be in effect, will process films faster: Information Adviser Nahid". The Daily Star. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Shabnam declines offer to join Bangladesh Film Certification Board". The South Asian Times | সাউথ এশিয়ান টাইমস. Retrieved 22 September 2024.


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