On my ninth day in Ireland I went to the Irish Film Classification Office(IFCO) in Dublin. There we got to hear form an industry professional and ask him questions about the film classification process in Ireland. We also got to view a short Irish film called “The Golden West”.
It was interesting seeing how film classification differs in Ireland compared to the United States. In the U.S. we have G,PG,PG13, and R. In Ireland they have G,PG,12A,15A,16, and 18. I think it’s interesting how there are more classifications in Ireland. I also learned that film classification offices hire a wide range of people in order to come to a fair consensus on film identification. Also, that many people there only work part time.
The film we watched was very good. It was filmed and produced in Ireland but heavily inspired by the American “western” genre. It took place in Ireland during the great famine and was centered around two sisters struggling to survive. Before the film began classification sheets and film parameters were given to us. We were tasked with classifying the film after watching it. I gave it the 15A rating which turned out to be the rating the office gave it as well which was very pleasing.
We were also able to ask the industry professional what it was like working in this industry and how he ended up in that specific vocation. This was a very enlightening experience, it gave a better understanding of the film industry and opened my eyes to the fact that different countries media industries can operate very differently compared to the United States.
