‘Passages’ Director, Distributor React To Film’s NC-17 Rating By MPA, Plan To Release It Unrated And Uncut
deadline.comFilmmaker Ira Sachs has called the Motion Picture Association’s decision to give his film an NC-17 rating “a form of cultural censorship.” In a conversation with the Los Angeles Times, Sachs said that the MPA rating “is quite dangerous, particularly in a culture which is already battling, in such extreme ways, the possibility of LGBT imagery to exist.” An NC-17 rating would limit the audience, as no one under 17 would be admitted.
Certain theaters would also likely not carry it. “We hunger for movies that are in any proximity to our own experience,” the director added. “To find a movie like this, which is then shut out, is, to me, depressing and reactionary.” Distributor MUBI acquired the film out of Sundance.
It backed Sachs’ sentiments, and said the film will be released unrated in New York and Los Angeles theaters on August 4, with a wider rollout to follow. “MUBI submitted director Ira Sachs’ Passages to the MPA in anticipation of the theatrical release in the United States.
We unexpectedly received an NC-17 rating, which may limit the film’s ability to play in some cinemas nationwide. We are deeply disappointed by the MPA’s decision and MUBI has officially rejected this NC-17 rating.
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