Law Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for legal professionals, students, and others with experience or interest in law. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Top Gun, Life of Brian and Heidi (2001) don't seem to have anything in common, but in Germany they are all declared "Nicht Feiertagsfrei" and may not be shown in a cinema on some days. Among them is the Friday before Easter (Karfreitag), Volkstrauertag (14th November), and Buß- und Bettag (17th November).
It is the FSK that declares a movie "Nicht Feiertragsfrei", but what legal basis do they have?
This explains that this has been the law since 1952 when the FRG was granted autonomy following World War 2.
They are films that contradict the "serious nature" of these holidays and which are to be feared that they violate "religious and moral feelings", according to the guideline of the FSK .
Which holidays fall into the category is a matter for the states, which films fall into the category is a matter for the Federal FSK.
As social attitudes have changed, fewer and fewer films are categorised as Nicht Feiertragsfrei; over 60% were in the 1950s, less than 1% were in the 2010s.
The FSK doesn't have a direct legal mandate to decide which movies may be shown on quiet holidays. Nevertheless, it's categorization is generally respected.
The FSK is a voluntary self-censorship institution by the German movie industry, which does have a legal mandate for the purpose of child and youth protection per § 14 JuSchG. It primarily provides an age rating for every submitted movie.
In § 28 of its charter, the FSK has tasked itself with also deciding suitability for quiet holidays upon request, noting that these holidays have additional protections under various state laws.
For example, the Bavarian Art 3 FTG outlaws public entertainment events unless the “serious nature” of these special holidays is maintained.
What does and doesn't maintain the serious nature depends on the social context. The classification of the FSK has become substantially more liberal over time. Whereas almost any children movie would have previously been forbidden, it's now largely horror flicks.
It is possible that a movie theatre could show a movie without suitable FSK classification. However, the theatre would do so at its own risk, and would likely get sued by religious/moralistic groups.
