?Matalinong Panonood wows 2015 International Film Classification Forum

?MANILA, Philippines - The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairperson lawyer Eugenio “Toto” Villareal was a presenter in the recently-concluded 2015 International Film Classification Forum (IFCF) recently held at the BEXCO Exhibition Center 1, Centrum City in Busan, South Korea.

Organized by the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB), the IFCF gathered film classification boards from around the world such as the Philippines, Canada, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, China and Japan to share best practices and to debate content ratings for children.

The MTRCB chief’s discussion centered on the philosophy that the “classification system will only make sense if it is understood and effectively used by families to determine the type of entertainment they, and especially, the children, see.” Villareal also shared with the audience the nationwide Matalinong Panonood campaign pursuant to the MTRCB’s developmental mandate. One of the highlights of his presentation dubbed as “unique and interesting” by some participants, was the showing of the agency’s 2015 infomercial featuring husband and wife Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos with Erlinda Villalobos. The said infomercial, which depicted the exposure of young children to age-appropriate language in film and television, drew applause from the international audience.

Impressed by MTRCB’s thrust, KMRB chairperson Lee Kyong-sook proposed that two agencies collaborate under a formal agreement to further develop discerning viewership for the family as a norm for film classification in Korea and in the Asian region.

Meanwhile, Villareal revealed that the MTRCB will look into the possibility of dividing the Agency’s “G” rating further into two sub-categories.

“The MTRCB team learned that South Korea was considering a two-tiered ‘G’ rating, broken down into the ‘0 to 6’ and ‘6 to below 12’ categories, as inspired by the German model explained by Mr. Stefan Linz, head of classification of FSK, Germany’s film classification body.”

He added that MTRCB has been invited by Linz to join the International Classification Commission, which will be meeting either in Dublin or Los Angeles next year.

The MTRCB team, which included executive director lawyerAnn Marie Nemenzo, Dispute Resolution heads, lawyers Tony Veloso and Jojo Salomon, and board committee co-chair for Cable and SATV Maloli Espinosa-Supnet, also visited South Korea’s Game Rating Administrative Committee (GRAC), which has jurisdiction over video games.

The MTRCB also recognizes the imminent development of a classification system for Internet-based TV and video-on-demand, both of which may require some law reform and administrative innovation.

The 2015 IFCF is the third global forum hosted by South Korea. The protection of young children was at the forefront of the conference.