Sweden was the first country in the world to introduce film censorship almost a century ago. The Swedish film censorship Board, Statens biografbyrån in Stockholm, however, has not banned or cut a film for adults since Martin Scorsese's Casino in 1995, but critics of the system have been asking for the abolition of censorship and for the checking only of films with an age limit of 15, the way it exists in most other countries, including Denmark.
The key recommendations of the new report written by Marianne Eliason are the following:
-film distributors are free to submit films for classification, and those that are not classified are automatically limited to ‘restricted for under 15' category. (JD - have to check if that is the right term.)
-the four existing age limits remain: barntillåten (for all ages) 7, 11, 15.
-a new body will be created to protect children and youth (similar to Denmark's Medierådet for børn og unge). It will oversee the film classification for children under 15.
The new proposals will be submitted for comments to the government and will then be presented to the Swedish Parliament. The new system might be introduced in 2011. All other Nordic countries have abolished film censorship.