Marvel’s 25th instalment, an origin story about Shang-Chi, was classified at 12A in cinemas. Find out more about this classification decision in this detailed case study. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Section A: Media Industries and Audiences’ on the OCR A-Level Media Studies specification.

The classification journey of Disney’s first feature-length animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, provides a useful case study of how BBFC standards and audience expectations have changed over time. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Section A: Media Industries and Audiences’ on the OCR A-Level Media Studies specification.

The BBFC and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust have picked five films to help engage learners at A-Level and above about the Holocaust, or more recent genocides. The resource suggests some discussion points for each film to kick-start conversation with a class or group. The resource covers topics such as the Holocaust and genocide distortion or denial, racism, bigotry and hatred, both in the UK and across the world. While these films do explore challenging and emotional themes, they have all been suggested by BBFC compliance officers due to the strong educational value of the content. If you’re planning to show any of these films in the classroom, remember to check the age rating first at the BBFC website.

Wadjda is a sweet, insightful and uplifting story about a young Saudi Arabian girl who steadfastly defies the social and cultural rules of her community in order to make her dreams of owning and riding a bike happen. The film is directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour, the first female director to make a film in Saudi Arabia, and offers a female perspective on life in contemporary Saudi Arabia, told from the point of a view of a young girl. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Component 2: Global Film: Narrative, Representation and Film Style - Non- English Language Film’ on the GCSE WJEC / Eduqas specification Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

The Jungle Book is a children’s adventure based on Rudyard Kipling’s collection of stories in which a boy - or ‘man-cub’ - called Mowgli is raised in the Indian jungle by wolves. This case study outlines the classification issues in Disney’s animated original film (1967) and the live-action adaptation (2016), discussion points for the classroom and further recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Section A: Media Industries and Audiences’ on the OCR A-Level in Media Studies specification.

Ava DuVernay’s Selma (2014) is a powerful historical drama based on the events of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches of 1965. The film dramatises these events through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King and narrates the political and personal struggles that he and his community faced in order to use their activism to make meaningful change. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying 'American film since 2005: Section B: Comparative Study of Contemporary American Independent Cinema (post 2005) - Mainstream film’ on the WJEC AS/A-level specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Room (Lenny Abrahamson) is a drama about a young woman and her son who struggle to adjust to life after escaping the room in which they’ve been held captive for many years. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended further viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Content of Critical Approaches to Film - Component 1: Film History - Section C: Ideology’ on the OCR AS-level specification’. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Pride (2014) is a British comedy drama, from 2014, in which an LGBTQ+ group raises money in support of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Critical Approaches to Film: Section A: Contemporary British and US Film - Contemporary US film’ on the A-level OCR specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Disney’s Zootropolis (Rich Moore, Byron Howard, Jared Bush) is set in a fictional city in which animals live in harmony together in the big smoke. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Critical Approaches to Film: Section A - Contemporary British and US Film’ on the A-level OCR specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a sci-fi action adventure in which a young woman becomes embroiled in a galactic conflict. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Content of Critical Approaches to Film: Section A: Contemporary British and US Film - Contemporary US film’ on the A-level OCR specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Todd Haynes returns to the melodrama genre in his 2015 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, The Price of Salt. Much like the novel on which it is based, Carol explores themes of love and desire set against a backdrop of social and legal discrimination. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Component 1: Section B - American Film since 2005’ on the A-level WJEC / Eduqas specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Dil Se… (Mani Ratnam, 1998) is a Hindi language Indian romantic thriller that blends Bollywood spectacle with an arthouse sensibility. The film’s themes of obsessive love and violence are set against a highly political narrative that explores issues of separatism in India during the 1990s. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Component 2: Global filmmaking perspectives - Section A (Two film study) - Outside Europe’ on the A-level WJEC / Eduqas specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies

Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003) follows the lives of several students studying at Watt High School in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, as they go about their everyday lives. The students’ daily routines are violently interrupted when two of them bring death and destruction to the school. This case study outlines the classification issues in the film, discussion points for the classroom and recommended viewing. Curriculum links: This case study can be used for those studying ‘Critical Approaches to Film: Ideology - Outsiders’ on the A-level OCR specification. Find more case studies on the BBFC website: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies