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Cape Town - The Film and Publications Board (FPB) of South Africa has been slapped with a R28m claim by the makers of the film Of Good Report, reports The Star.
The producers of the South African film are claiming for damages allegedly caused by the FPB's assertion that the movie contained child pornography.
The claim calls on the FPB to pay for damages suffered and for revenue and lost potential earnings for "incorrectly" associating the film with child pornography.
Of Good Report, directed by Jahmil XT Qubeka, was set to open the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in July but was banned by the FPB which found a sex scene between a schoolteacher and a pupil amounted to child pornography.
'This has turned me into a superstar'
The movie's plot revolves around a small-town school where a predatory teacher, Parker Sithole (played by Mothusi Magano) begins an obsessive affair with a 16-year-old student Nolitha, played by 23-year-old actress Petronella Tshuma.
The ban was later overturned by the board's appeal tribunal and the FPB said it was "very disappointed and saddened" by the decision.
Qubeka was honoured with an award for artistic bravery at DIFF and said that being associated with child pornography is "a death to one's career".
Speaking on the Al Jazeera talk show South 2 North in July, Qubeka agreed that child pornography should be banned but argued Of Good Report is "making an indictment... For teenagers this a horror film. I want kids, particularly girls, to watch this and I want to scare them."
Reflecting on the effects of the ban, he said: "I'm not sad for me. This has turned me into a superstar. My life has changed in a week. I've been in Variety magazine… three times. What I am sad for is my nation because my nation was refused the right to see the film."
Of Good Report was released in SA cinemas on 6 August with a rating of 16VSN.
The producers of the South African film are claiming for damages allegedly caused by the FPB's assertion that the movie contained child pornography.
The claim calls on the FPB to pay for damages suffered and for revenue and lost potential earnings for "incorrectly" associating the film with child pornography.
Of Good Report, directed by Jahmil XT Qubeka, was set to open the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in July but was banned by the FPB which found a sex scene between a schoolteacher and a pupil amounted to child pornography.
'This has turned me into a superstar'
The movie's plot revolves around a small-town school where a predatory teacher, Parker Sithole (played by Mothusi Magano) begins an obsessive affair with a 16-year-old student Nolitha, played by 23-year-old actress Petronella Tshuma.
The ban was later overturned by the board's appeal tribunal and the FPB said it was "very disappointed and saddened" by the decision.
Qubeka was honoured with an award for artistic bravery at DIFF and said that being associated with child pornography is "a death to one's career".
Speaking on the Al Jazeera talk show South 2 North in July, Qubeka agreed that child pornography should be banned but argued Of Good Report is "making an indictment... For teenagers this a horror film. I want kids, particularly girls, to watch this and I want to scare them."
Reflecting on the effects of the ban, he said: "I'm not sad for me. This has turned me into a superstar. My life has changed in a week. I've been in Variety magazine… three times. What I am sad for is my nation because my nation was refused the right to see the film."
Of Good Report was released in SA cinemas on 6 August with a rating of 16VSN.
