

Thirty film classifiers - generally known as film censors - are expected to attend from as far afield as Latvia, Switzerland and most of the member States of the European Union.

They will view the controversial American film 15 Minutes starring Robert de Niro and Ed Burns, the plot of which concerns multiple murder and snuff movies. Rated R in the US the film has already received '18' ratings in the UK, Germany, Spain, Finland, and Norway.

The screening will act as the starting point for a discussion about screen violence chaired by Irish journalist and screenwriter Eoghan Harris. The classifiers have two other formal gatherings arranged for their time in Dublin. On Friday afternoon they will be addressed by director John Boorman and on Saturday Steve Knibbs, the head of UCI cinemas, will speak to them about an exhibitor's experience of the film classification systems in different European countries and distribution territories.