. . . ‘Our mission is to fight child pornography’
By Mohalenyane Phakela
MASERU — A South Africa-based company, Film and Publication Board (FPB), held a workshop for local film-makers, producers and scrip-writers at Lehakoe Club on Tuesday.
FPB was invited by Basotho Intelligent and Creative Theatre Group (BICTG), a local movement that aims to uplift acting talent in the country and assist local film makers in the mandatory classification of different films.
“It has come to our attention that most, if not all, of the local productions are not classified as to what age groups can watch them or have access to them,” said the director of BICTG, Molefi Nts’onyane, in an interview with the Weekender at the workshop.
“This affects the growth of Lesotho’s children as most of them are exposed to pornography, violence or vulgar language disseminated by the unrated movies.
“We invited FPB to come and equip us on how to classify our movies and help us form a national board that will regulate that.”
The attendants got the opportunity to watch the screening of a South African documentary Material, which expresses most of the laws and ways in which to classify a movie, on Monday at Ster Kinekor, before attending the Tuesday workshop.
Elaborating on the agenda of the seminar, FPB’s Chief Operations Officer, Sipho Risiba, said there has been limited restriction regarding the material children are exposed to, mainly through the internet.
“It has become our mission to fight child pornography around Africa and the rest of the world, so we believe Lesotho should take part in controlling what children are exposed to.
“We are a foreign company so we cannot create such laws, but our aim is to influence the community and the government to be part of the initiative, which is already being exercised in South Africa.
Risiba revealed that in South Africa the initiative had roped in network providers to prohibit the surfing of pornographic sites. Should an adult wish to do surf such sites, he or she should make arrangements with the network provider, he said..
“The Film and Publications Act of South Africa requires FPB to regulate the distribution, exhibition and possession of interactive computer games, movies and publications with due regard to protection of children from sexual exploitation and age inappropriate material.
“With Lesotho having such a board, it will help them check and regulate the content of movies and publications before being taken to the market.
“Besides that, getting the board accreditation will help them invent an online market, such as iTunes, through which they can be able to sell their products globally, or get distribution deals with other countries.
“We have the knowledge, expertise and the infrastructure. All we need is the dedication of Basotho in making this work,” Risiba said.
Risiba, FPB’s Acting Operation Officer Danny Morobane and local film maker Silas Monyatsi facilitated the workshop.
