Archive for August, 2010

BEASTIE BOY ADAM YAUCH’S OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES LOSES MPAA HOLOCAUST DOC APPEAL Ratings Board Upholds “R” Rating After Serious Discussion Proving You Can, In Fact, Censor History / August 9th, 2010

New York, NY (August 5, 2010) – Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that following an appeal hearing, the MPAA has upheld its “R” rating of the Holocaust documentary A FILM UNFINISHED for “disturbing images of holocaust atrocities including graphic nudity.”

The film, which will be released in New York on August 18th and August 20th in Los Angeles, followed by a national rollout, documents an unfinished Nazi propaganda film shot in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. The footage was commissioned by the Nazis to falsely depict everyday life in the Ghetto, drawing lines between “rich” and “poor” Jews in order to justify their extermination.

In making its decision, the Appeals Board voted 12 to 3 to uphold the “R” rating, despite impassioned arguments from director Yael Hersonski and a letter from Warsaw Ghetto survivor Hana Avrutzky. Both asked that the board members, consisting of fellow film distributors , exhibitors and community representatives consider the context of the nudity in the film in terms of its historical and educational importance. Board members were also asked to consider the rating of the Steven Spielberg produced 1998 film THE LAST DAYS, which features a well-documented mass execution and extensive nudity. The film was given a PG-13 rating for “graphic images and descriptions of Holocaust atrocities”.

The “R” rating for A FILM UNFINISHED will restrict access to the film to under the age of 17 (unless accompanied by a parent or guardian) and negatively affect the film’s ability to be shown in educational venues.

Adam Yauch said, “”In a world where young people are bombarded with meaningless entertainment, it’s unfortunate that a film with real educational and historic value would be denied to them by an organization that is supposed to be working to help them. I still have hope that the MPAA will reconsider at some point in the future, so young people will be able to learn from this film.”

Yael Hersonski said, “I am extremely disappointed that teenagers in this country won’t have unrestricted access to this critical imagery of the Holocaust.”

More information on the film can be found at www.afilmunfinished.com