Bulgaria
The Bulgarian film rating system is defined in the Film Industry Law (or Act) of 2003. The National Film Rating Committee examines every film that is going to be distributed in the country and gives it a rating. In practice, the ratings are rarely displayed on posters and in film advertisements, but almost all DVDs have them on the back cover.
| Rating | Accompanying inscription | When is it given |
|---|---|---|
| A | Recommended to children | "When the film is for children and has an educational nature." |
| B | No age restrictions | "When the film confirms the ideals of humanism, promotes national and world culture or by no means contradicts to the universally accepted moral norms in the country and there are no restrictive recommendations by the Committee." |
| C | Not recommended to children younger than 12 years of age. | "When the film contains certain erotic scenes or scenes with drinking, taking drugs or stimulants or a few scenes of violence." |
| D | No people younger than 16 years of age are admitted. | "When the film contains quite a number of erotic scenes or scenes with drinking, taking drugs or stimulants or a considerable number of scenes showing strong violence and gore." |
| X | No people younger than the age of 18 are admitted. | "When the film is naturally erotic and may contain scenes of strong gory violence and maiming with a high level of frequency." |
| F | "Films the contents of which is contrary to the universal rules of morality, that laud or exculpate atrocity, violence or taking drugs, that incite to racial, sexual, religious or national hatred, are not rated."
Note: unrated films can not be distributed, as no visa is given. |
Before 2003 there was another rating system which was very similar to the current one (the same letter ratings were used, but the meaning of most letters was different; for example "B" stood for "not recommended for persons under the age of 12").
In practice, the rating "B" is given to most popular American films, even if they receive a more restrictive one in other countries.
In 2007, a few changes to the law were made, the effect of which will probably not be big for the rating system, though a film's rating could change. These changes are in effect from January 1, 2008.
Note: parts of the table above uses quotes from the English translation of the Bulgarian Film Industry Act published on the website of the Union of Bulgarian Film Makers.
Read more about this topic: Motion Picture Rating System