The Film and Publication Board (FPB) has distanced itself from its Appeals Tribunal after the tribunal changed the rating of Inxeba (The Wound) to X18‚ the same rating given to hardcore porn.

The FPB said many people are under the impression that the tribunal is part of the board‚ but it is a separate entity which is selected by the minister of communications.

"It is important that the position of the board should be made clear in public. The FPB does not agree with the X rating and has never rated the film X but 16LS instead. The FPB has made it clear that the X rating was imposed by the tribunal and that it was not a rating requested by the complainants."

Producers of the film filed legal papers opposing the X18 earlier this week. It came after the tribunal released its reasons for the decision‚ stating that the film has no artistic value and was offensive to the Xhosa culture.

The new rating means that the movie had to be withdrawn from cinemas and can now only be viewed in a designated adult premises.

"We find this ruling sinister‚ as the ‘X18’ rating was not requested by the appellants‚ and it cannot be reasonably justified by anyone who has seen the film. It is also worrying that the Appeals Tribunal reached this decision without giving the distributor and producer a proper opportunity to make submissions on the matter. This is plainly unlawful‚" said MD of Indigenous Film Distribution‚ Helen Kuun.