March 30, 2023
Two banned films will be screened on campus—“If You Love This Planet” (1982) and “A Beautiful Sin” (2022)—on Thursday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in Manzanita Hall’s Armer Theater.
A “banned film” is a movie that has been censored by the government, for example in rulings that it cannot be exhibited. “If You Love This Planet” is the last film officially banned from screening in the U.S. by the U.S. government.
These two short films are being presented by the Department of Journalism and Department of Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA). The film “If You Love This Planet” is 23 minutes long, and the film “A Beautiful Sin” is 20 minutes long.
At the screening, CSUN students and faculty will offer a panel discussion on current issues in cinema censorship, including the on-screen display of original Instagram memes on the topic created by current CSUN students in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.
If You Love This Planet
“If You Love This Planet”is a documentary directed by Terre Nash and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. It presents a lecture at State University of New York, Plattsburgh, by renowned Australian activist and physician Dr. Helen Caldicott about the medical and social dangers posed by nuclear weapons.
It is surprisingly true that the U.S. Justice Dept. temporarily banned “If You Love This Planet” from being exhibited in theaters, back in 1982, under the claim that it was “foreign political propaganda.” The censorship of “If You Love This Planet” led to its increased popularity. Nash won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary for the film. In her acceptance speech, Nash thanked the U.S. government for so effectively promoting her film.
A Beautiful Sin
“A Beautiful Sin,” directed by Ahmad Jack Almazeedi, tells the story of a young couple in love in Kuwait City. Sara and Adamget engaged, but then one comes out as transgender. The question asked by the filmmaker is: How will their love survive as they face conflicting religious beliefs, and social norms in a region of the world that does not accept the LGBTQ+ relationships?
“A Beautiful Sin” cannot be shown in Kuwait, due to film censorship in the country. A CTVA film student screened the film in September 2022 at the Senior Film Showcase, held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.
The film screening at CSUN of these two banned films is part of an semester-long project called Cinema Censorship, Then and Now, being funded by the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication as an interdisciplinary pilot program. Profs. Elizabeth Blakey (Journalism) and Nate Thomas (CTVA) are heading the pilot program, which addresses issues of film bans and other restrictions on freedom of expression in the history of cinema.