A love story with a pornography label
A gay love drama in an initiation camp: in 2018, an X18 rating pushed "Inxeba" out of South Africa's cinemas.
On 13 February 2018, the appeal tribunal of South Africa's Film and Publication Board reclassified the film "Inxeba" (The Wound). Instead of being rated 16, it was now rated X18. This category is actually intended for pornography, and the film could only be shown in licensed adult shops. For cinemas, this amounted to a ban.
John Trengove's drama is set in the mountains of the Eastern Cape. There, the factory worker Xolani accompanies young men through ulwaluko, the Xhosa circumcision and initiation ritual. One of the initiates discovers his secret: a hidden love for another man. The film was South Africa's official Oscar entry and had won awards at festivals in more than twenty countries.
At home it met fierce resistance. The Congress of Traditional Leaders and the Man and Boy Foundation accused the filmmakers of distorting a sacred ritual and revealing its secrets. Cinemas in the Eastern Cape had already cancelled screenings after staff had been intimidated. The film team saw homophobia above all behind the outrage. The organisation Sonke Gender Justice spoke of a relapse into the days of censorship. Many pointed out that the film of Nelson Mandela's autobiography had shown more of the ritual.
The procedure was also remarkable. The filmmakers were not allowed to speak before the tribunal. They only received the written reasons ten days later, and these did not explain why the film was supposed to lack artistic merit. The producers immediately went to court. At the beginning of March, the tribunal and the complainants backed down and provisionally accepted an 18 rating. From 9 March 2018, "Inxeba" was showing in cinemas across the country again.