Baby cinema clubs to show 18 certificate films

Parent and baby cinema clubs in York will be allowed to show films with a 15 and 18 age certificate following a decision by the council.

Mothers told a City of York Council meeting the screenings were one of the few activities catering to them as well as their babies, but said the choice of films was currently limited.

The change follows similar initiatives in Leeds and Chelmsford, and will allow controlled entry of infants to age-specific films, but not the general admission of children.

Despite some councillors expressing concern about the material to which babies could be exposed, York Council's Licensing and Regulatory Committee approved the move at a meeting on Tuesday.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, City Screen, Everyman, Vue and Cineworld all offer baby cinema clubs in York, but had been restricted to screening films rated U, PG or 12A by the British Board of Film Classification.

Harriet Sands, a mother who spoke at Tuesday's meeting, said the clubs were a "rare" chance for new mums to meet with their prams in the city, but there were no films on the existing listings that appealed to them.

She added: "If I was going to the cinema without a baby it would be for me to decide if the film was for me.

"The implication that bringing a baby renders me incapable of choosing feels misguided."

Child psychologist trauma specialists Beacon House recommended assessing each film individually and taking practical measures to help anyone affected during a screening.

Council officials said they would make its findings available to cinemas to help them decide which films to screen and how to manage showings.

However, not everyone was happy with the plans, with Labour councillor Jason Rose asking the meeting: "Do I think an independent cinema with five members of staff is capable of making a genuine assessment?

"No, I don't want to outsource that risk to them."

In response, Lib Dem councillor Ashley Mason said: "They're not going to be putting on bloodthirsty films. Love Actually and Bridget Jones are both 15.

"We can probably guess the kind of films they will want to show. We have to have some confidence in cinemas."

Conservative councillor Michael Nicholls called on the authority to help cinemas when choosing which films to show, warning: "There could be mistakes made.

"But there's noise in baby films when the little creatures die. We've all seen Bambi."

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