The Prohibited Importations Unit (PIU) of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has determined Bill Zebub's Ravage the Scream Queen to be "obscene", as defined under s. 163(8) of the Criminal Code (see http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/C-46/page-4.html#codese:163-ss:_8_); hence it has determined the importation of that movie into Canada to be prohibited under tariff item No. 9899.00.00 of the List of Tariff Provisions set out in the schedule to the Customs Tariff (see http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/menu-eng.html). Here's a description of Ravage the Scream Queen from MVD Entertainment Group: "Two men find a snuff film and try their hand at filming their own. You will feel 40% sleazier after you watch this. ¶ Two men find a DVDr and discover that it is a snuff film. As they debate whether or not the footage is authentic, one of them becomes inspired to make his own movie. They have an endless supply of victims - desperate actresses who will answer any ad, no matter how suspicious. Starring Bob 'Hands Off' Arian and Steve Nebesni as the villains, and an impressive cast of actresses: Rachel Bulisky, Heather Forte, Elena Kagan, Sativa Verte, Kathy Rice, Jordana Leigh, Nikki Sebastian, Elyse Cheri, Kerri Taylor, and many more." Ravage the Scream Queen is available for order on DVD from Amazon.ca (Amazon.com.ca Inc.). Warning: The file linked to below contains coarse sexual language; reader discretion is advised. "Quarterly List of Admissible and Prohibited Titles": July to September 2010 (PDF file) Amazon.ca: Ravage the Scream Queen DVD MVD Entertainment Group: Ravage the Scream Queen DVD News source: GOMORRAHY.com - Censorship in Canada
Frédérick Maheux's documentary Art/Crime is scheduled to have its world première at this year's Fantasia International Film Festival in Montréal on July 28th. Here's a description of Art/Crime from Fantasia: "October, 2009. Following a complaint from Germany, the Sureté du Quebec begins an investigation into suspicious images put online by a local website. Named Inner Depravity, it consists, according to the accuser, of a database giving access to audiovisual files depicting authentic brutal crimes. The man behind the deranged document dump is quickly identified and located. Sequestered in his home by the local authorities, special-effects make-up artist Rémy Couture sees his workshop thoroughly searched while several of his possessions are confiscated. Behind bars, Rémy learns that he is being charged with moral corruption through propagation of obscene material. He is even suspected of committing the violent acts his work depicts. Which is false. For as real and shocking as Couture's films may be, they remain works of fiction. This argument, however, is seemingly insufficient proof of his innocence. So begins a lengthy judicial saga that, as of today, has yet to reach a conclusion. Accused far and wide of the worst atrocities possible, a target for loathing and prejudice, Rémy Couture quickly understood that he must tell his own version of the facts if certain points are to be demystified. And who better to tell his tale than Frédérick Maheux, an experimental filmmaker more than passingly familiar with cinema of the extreme (his first feature THÉORIE DE LA RELIGION surprised more than a few at Fantasia last year). ¶ The case of Rémy Couture caused controversy within the Quebec artistic community, with reason, whether or not one approves of his work's undeniably brutal nature. An urgent documentary, ART/CRIME confronts us with the various issues surrounding the case. It takes us backstage at Inner Depravity, allowing us to witness Couture at work, and it offers a somewhat disquieting picture of the state's control over artistic production and, analogously, freedom of speech. It also sheds some light on the difficulties experienced by law enforcement authorities in their engagement with the internet, a medium that ignores the law only to impose its own. Punctuated by interviews with the artist's collaborators, but also with eloquent contributors such as Robert Morin, Nacho Cerda and Mario Dumont, ART/CRIME is ultimately more than a mere portrait of Rémy Couture. It is a warning cry. For those who believe in artistic freedom and fear for the loss of this moral right, this film is unmissable. For, should art, no matter what its form, ever be considered a crime?" Warning: The videos linked to below contain sexual content; viewer discretion is advised. YouTube: Art/Crime trailer #2 YouTube: Art/Crime trailer #1 Art/Crime official website Fantasia: Art/Crime * * * Break.com: "Inner Depravity: vol 1" Break.com: "Inner Depravity 2" RemyFX (Rémy Couture) official website News source: GOMORRAHY.com - Censorship in Canada
CTV News Montreal: "Obscenity trial begins for Montreal special effects artist" (w/ video - December 11, 2012) CTV News Montreal: "Jury selection ends for make-up artist's obscenity trial" (w/ video - December 10, 2012) CBC News: "Detective at obscenity trial testifies gory images looked fake" (w/ audio - December 11, 2012) Maclean's: "Trial begins for Quebec gory film-maker, accused of corrupting morals" (December 11, 2012) National Post: "Quebec filmmaker's images were so gory police thought they depicted actual murders, court hears" (December 11, 2012) The Gazette: "Graphic material could violate fundamental values of Canadian society, [C]rown says in trial of special-effects expert" (December 11, 2012) Source: PBS (Partial-Birth Sex)
Troma Entertainment president and co-founder Lloyd Kaufman tweeted the following yesterday (December 12th): https://twitter.com/lloydkaufman/status/278944427471433728 A pathologist working for Interpol in Austria examined the image above and said he could not rule out the possibility that it depicted an actual assface. CTV News Montreal: "Make-up artist's film shown to jury in obscenity trial" (w/ video - December 12, 2012) Global News: "Jury sees fake murder scenes in corrupting-morals trial of gore artist" (December 12, 2012) UCLA Department of Psychology: Neil M. Malamuth cf. San Francisco Chronicle: "A 'Snuff' Video on S.F. Cable?" (October 14, 1996)
The Gazette: "Remy Couture found not guilty of corrupting morals" (December 22, 2012 - 6:17 p.m.) http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/montreal/Remy Couture found guilty obscenity/7737731/story.html via GOMORRAHY.com - Censorship in Canada
