Next time you catch a movie at your local theater, keep an eye out for the film's rating on the screen. As of early 2016, you may find that things have changed.
According to Tuoi Tre, officials from the Vietnam Cinema Department sat down in Hanoi last Friday to discuss the country's film ratings.
The proposed set of new rating categories, which has been written since 2008 but has yet to go into effect, would rank both local and international films based on elements like language, nudity, violence, sex and drug use to gauge the appropriate audience for the movie.
If approved, the four categories would include one suitable for all ages (P), one for children 13 and up (C13), one for teens over 16 (C16) and one for adults (C18). The model is based on Singapore's rating system, according to the cinema department.
Films which fall into the C18 category would involve stories dealing with political, social, psychological and criminal issues. These movies would also be permitted to include full nudity. The cinema department specifies that this nudity must be relevant to the story and cannot appear too frequently throughout the film.
According to Thanh Nien, however, film censors have also proposed a controversial new rule in which sex scenes on the big screen would last no more than five seconds and one film would not include more than three such scenes, drawing ire from local filmmakers.
Officials are still discussing the exact specifics, however if the draft circular is approved, this new set of film ratings would go into effect early next year.
