British film board gives 'U' rating to 10-hour prank film of paint drying

LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The British Board of Film Classification on Tuesday gave an official rating of "U" to a 10-hour film that features paint drying.

The film, which was created as a statement about censorship by a man named Charlie Lyne, was reviewed by the board and ultimately given a "U," or "Universal," rating -- which identifies the motion picture as appropriate for all audiences.

The film simply titled Paint Drying was the result of a Kickstarter campaign started by Lyne in November 2015 as a protest against the British Board of Film Classifications history of censoring or banning films in the UK.

Lyne shot 14 hours worth of still footage of paint drying with the intention of forcing the board to sit through the lengthy film. He then used more than $8,500 he raised online to pay the $10.17 per minute fee required to submit a film to the board.

Once the product was funded, the film was submitted and the board watched it in two separate sittings beginning on Jan. 25.

"Today's the day. Right now, two BBFC examiners are sitting in a screening room in the basement of the BBFC's Soho Square offices watching the first 9 hours of Paint Drying," he wrote. "The remaining 67 minutes will be watched tomorrow morning, after which the examiners will write up their notes and prepare the film's certificate."

The board classified the film as a documentary and declared that it contained "no material likely to offend or harm."