'A Serbian Film' pulled from FrightFest

Controversial horror movie A Serbian Film will not be screened at this year's Film4 FrightFest event.

The film, which contains brutal and extreme violence in the story of a former Serbian porn star returning to the sex industry, has had three minutes and 48 seconds cut by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) due to its "juxtaposition of images of children with sexual and sexually violent material".

Although A Serrbian Film director Srdjan Spasojevic intends the movie to be an allegory about the country itself, the BBFC has ruled that it goes beyond levels of acceptability for an 18 certificate.

FrightFest co-director Alan Jones said in a statement that the horror event organisers pulled the movie because they did not wish to show a version that had been heavily censored by 49 individual cuts.

“Film4 FrightFest has decided not to show A Serbian Film in a heavily cut version because, as a festival with a global integrity, we think a film of this nature should be shown in its entirety as per the director’s intention," Jones explained.

"Several film festivals across the world have already done so. Unlike the I Spit on Your Grave remake, where we are showing the BBFC certified print, as requested by Westminster Council, the issues and time-line complexities surrounding A Serbian Film make it impossible for us to screen it”

A Serbian Film is the second withdrawal from FrightFest following Gregg Araki's decision not to screen his apocalyptic teen horror Kaboom.