Forced to endure a 10-hour movie crafted solely to bore them to tears, British censors have awarded Paint Drying a "U" certificate, meaning that it is suited for all audiences.

In its official listing, the BBFC concludes that Charlie Lyne's movie, which consists entirely of a freshly-painted wall drying, is a documentary with an unknown cast featuring no material likely to offend or harm: "PAINT DRYING is a film showing paint drying on a wall. All known versions of this work passed uncut."

The movie is a protest against the UK's bizarrely resurgent censors. Though widely ignored by viewers in the age of YouTube and free internet porn, the BBFC classification process is mandatory for filmmakers who want traditional theatrical and broadcast distribution.

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To protest the UK's antiquated film censorship regime, Charlie Lyne crowdfunded a movie of paint drying. Having raised £5963, Charlie was able to submit a 607 minute film, which the censors now have to sit through. Charlie's just done an "ask me anything" interview at Reddit, with some illuminating answers.

About a year ago, I went to a filmmaker open day held by the BBFC at their offices in Soho. I'd expected to see quite a lot of conflict between the BBFC examiners and the visiting filmmakers whose work was at the mercy of the board, but there was nothing like that. Most of the filmmakers — even those who'd had trouble with the BBFC in the past — seemed totally resigned to the censorship imposed by the board, even supportive of it. I think that shocked me into action.

Previously: Watching paint dry: epic crowfunded troll of the UK film censorship board Read the rest