Ten-hour film about paint drying approved by censors

A scene, one of many similar scenes, from the movie Paint Drying. Photo/Twitter

A British filmmaker made censors sit through a 10-hour movie about paint drying just to prove a point.

Charlie Lyne used Kickstarter to fund his 10.5-hour film Paint Drying, "a single, unbroken shot of white paint drying on a brick wall".

He shared the news on Twitter that it had finally been approved by censors with a "U" rating, meaning it contained "no material likely to offend or harm".

£5,936 well spent. pic.twitter.com/DKfufcr4qk

— Charlie Shackleton (@charlieshack) January 26, 2016

During an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, Lyne said censors were only allowed to watch nine hours of material per day, so getting his film approved would have taken two censors two days to watch.

He also admitted he hadn't seen the entire film himself.

On Kickstarter, Lyne said he made the film to protest the prohibitive costs of getting a film rated by the British Board of Film Classification in the UK.

"Today, it continues to censor and in some cases ban films, while UK law ensures that, in effect, a film cannot be released in British cinemas without a BBFC certificate.

"Each certificate costs around £1000 for a feature film of average length. For many independent filmmakers, such a large upfront can prove prohibitively expensive.

"Luckily, there's a flipside to all of this: while filmmakers are required to pay the BBFC to certify their work, the BBFC are also required to sit through whatever we pay them to watch."

Lyne told The Telegraph he was hoping to hold one theatrical viewing of the movie now that it had been rated.

Watch a clip from Paint Drying (Warning: video may include scenes that are boring in nature):

Today's the day: two BBFC examiners are currently watching 'Paint Drying'. AMA: https://t.co/weVqKBnZzf pic.twitter.com/tTsS15176P

— Charlie Shackleton (@charlieshack) January 25, 2016

- nzherald.co.nz

The British Board of Film Classification (previously known as the British Board of Film Censors) was established in 1912 to ensure films remained free of 'indecorous dancing', 'references to controversial politics' and 'men and women in bed together', amongst other perceived indiscretions.

Today, it continues to censor and in some cases ban films, while UK law ensures that, in effect, a film cannot be released in British cinemas without a BBFC certificate.

Each certificate costs around £1000 for a feature film of average length. For many independent filmmakers, such a large upfront can prove prohibitively expensive.

Luckily, there's a flipside to all of this: while filmmakers are required to pay the BBFC to certify their work, the BBFC are also required to sit through whatever we pay them to watch.

That's why I'm Kickstarting a BBFC certificate for my new film Paint Drying - a single, unbroken shot of white paint drying on a brick wall. All the money raised by this campaign (minus Kickstarter's fees) will be put towards the cost of the certificate, so the final length of the film will be determined by how much money is raised here.

For instance, if we raise £108.59, the film will be one minute long. If we raise £526.90, it'll be an hour long. And so on.