Director Shane Meadows in "An 18 for This is England? This is an outrage" in The Guardian's film blog:
"It's almost two years since we started shooting This is England and at last the film is nearly out, hitting cinemas here this weekend. I suppose it's my most personal film to date as the main character, Shaun Fields is loosely based upon me at a time in my childhood.
"Shaun is a 12 year-old growing up in Thatcher's England when Rubik's Cubes, Doc Martens and political upheaval were all the rage. Shaun gets involved with a local skinhead gang after his father dies in the Falklands war and This is England tells of the repercussions that follow.
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"Then, earlier this year, we heard that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had decided to give the film an 18 certificate for its use of 'realistic violence and racist language'. This means that the film is now unavailable to the audience it will benefit the most.
"It's like I've somehow overachieved. By having one piece of violence and one piece of really acute verbal violence I've managed to get an 18 certificate, whereas someone else can slay thousands of people in a single film and that's OK. To be honest I don't understand it because, yes, the film is affecting but I think it's something that someone of 15 can cope with. It's not like it's a film about the 80s that has no value; it's incredibly relevant politically. It's as much about Iraq as it is about the Falklands. It's as much as about England in 2007 as it is about England in 1983."
Last year, Meadows' This is England won the top prize at the British Independent Film Awards, while star Thomas Turgoose, who plays Shaun, was given the most promising newcomer prize.
Additionally, This is England won the special jury prize at the first edition of the RomeFilmFest.