The British Board of Film Certification (previously known as the British Board of Film Censors) was established in 1912 to ensure films remained free of ‘indecorous dancing’, ‘references to controversial politics’ and ‘men and women in bed together’, amongst other perceived indiscretions.
Today, it continues to censor and in some cases ban films, while UK law ensures that, in effect, a film cannot be released in British cinemas without a BBFC certificate.
Each certificate costs around £1000 for a feature film of average length. For many independent filmmakers, such a large upfront can prove prohibitively expensive.