Would you consider my short film gratuitous?

[dallywhitty]

I apologise if this was posted in the wrong section. I recently shot and edited a short film for my Media Studies course, under the apparent delusion that I could do as I wished. Prior to filming, the planning stage involved researching a genre of my choice (I opted for horror) as well as a director (Dario Argento, whose influence is evident in the video). The film is about childhood trauma and revolves around a teenage girl who, trapped in the memory of sexual violence which was inflicted upon her at the age of six, opts to commit suicide. A knife and a birthday card are both used as phallic instruments and the child-like nature of the character is reflected through various props.

It wasn't until I'd nearly finished editing the footage that I was told I would have to cut select shots for reasons of Health and Safety and the belief that it would cause problems for the college in the eyes of the examiners. As somebody who doesn't condone censorship, it has pissed off both myself and my girlfriend, who agreed to star in the film.

I told both teachers that I was reluctant to cut it and that removing the shots in question would drastically alter the tone of the film. Suddenly, the issue seemed to be that the implied rape was seen as inappropriate ("like showing pornography in class") and gratuitous. I was presented today with two options: I could either cut roughly thirty seconds from the film (everything from 2.50 to about 3.25) and submit it in a cut form or replace it with newly filmed footage. I agreed to the latter option as it seemed like the lesser of two evils, but I can't help but feel that I've sold my soul to the devil for matters of convenience. Lester Burnham would not be proud. Oddly enough, nobody had a problem with the shot of the bloody arm towards the end of the video!

The film itself:

Hysteria

I have some issues with it - the dragging of the feet looks dodgy and there's a lot of background noise (easily overlooked when you're editing the footage in a noisy room!) - but I'm happy with it.

I'm interested as to your views and as to whether anybody has had similar experiences with teachers imposing cuts upon their creative pieces.