This Act may be cited as the Cinematograph Films Amendment Act, 1934, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Cinematograph Films Act, 1928 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

The approval by the Censor of any film submitted for censorship pursuant to section five of the principal Act may be—

For the purposes of this section the expression “approved film society” means an incorporated society that is approved by the Minister for the purposes of this section, and in respect of which he is satisfied that its object or principal object is to exhibit, or to arrange for the exhibition, to members of the society, and (if the rules of the society so provide) to persons introduced by members of the society, of films that are represented to be of special interest from the educational, or artistic, or technical aspects of film-production.

Subsection five of section five of the principal Act is hereby repealed.

In addition to the matters specified in section forty-three of the principal Act, regulations under that section may make provision in accordance with this section requiring or restricting the publication in posters and other advertising-matter of particulars of or in relation to the certificate given by the Censor in respect of any cinematograph film.

In respect of posters or other advertising-matter relating to any film specified therein, such regulations may require that particulars of the Censor’s certificate shall, subject to such exceptions (if any) as may be provided for in the regulations, be included in all such posters and in all other advertising-matter relating to that film.

In respect of posters or other advertising-matter not relating to any specified film, but relating to an entertainment at which any unspecified film or unspecified films are to be exhibited, such regulations may require that particulars of the certificate given by the Censor in respect of any film proposed to be exhibited at such entertainment shall, subject to such exceptions (if any) as may be provided for in the regulations, be included in all posters and other advertising-matter relating to such entertainment.

Any regulations made for the purposes of this section may impose obligations on the printer or publisher of any poster or other advertising-matter, or on the renter or exhibitor of any specified film to which any such poster or other advertising-matter relates, or on the exhibitor of any film exhibited at an entertainment referred to in the last preceding subsection, or on the promoters of any such entertainment, or on any other persons, and may prescribe fines, not exceeding fifty pounds in any case, for failure to comply with any of the requirements of such regulations.

Section forty-three of the principal Act, as amended by subsection four of section two of the Cinematograph Films Amendment Act, 1929, is hereby amended by omitting from paragraph (d) of subsection one the words “or publication”.

Section seven of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after the words “in the form in which it is so exhibited” in subsection one, the words “or, in the case of a film that has been conditionally approved by the Censor, exhibits that film or any part of that film in contravention of any conditions imposed by the Censor”.

Section two of the Cinematograph Films Amendment Act, 1929 (exempting sound-picture films from the requirements of sections sixteen and seventeen of the principal Act), is hereby repealed.

The right of appeal from decisions of the Censor, conferred by section nine of the principal Act, shall include a right, to be exercisable only by the Minister or by some person authorized by the Minister in that behalf, to appeal against the Censor’s approval of any film, whether such approval is absolute or conditional, or has been given before or after the passing of this Act.

On any such appeal the approval of the Censor may be withdrawn, or an absolute approval may be made conditional, or a conditional approval may be made absolute, or the conditions attached to a conditional approval may be varied within the limits defined by section two hereof.

Where the Censor’s approval of any film is withdrawn on appeal under the foregoing provisions of this section, the renter of that film and any exhibitor with whom the renter may have entered into any contract with reference to the exhibition of the film shall be mutually relieved from their liabilities under the contract in respect of that film, except so far as those liabilities are in respect of exhibitions of the film that have taken place before such withdrawal.

Every renter, before entering into any contract for the exhibition of any film acquired or proposed to be acquired by him for release in any film-renting season, shall give to the Minister a statement in writing, in accordance with this section, with respect to all the films which the renter intends to release during that film-renting season.

Every such statement shall be in the prescribed form and shall give—

For the purpose of this section, and generally for the purposes of this Act—

Subsection five of section twenty-nine of the principal Act is hereby repealed.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any contract entered into by an exhibitor, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, for the supply to him for exhibition of any quota films exceeding four in number, such exhibitor shall, subject to the provisions of this section and without incurring any liability for breach of contract, have the right to reject:—

Where for the purposes of the last preceding subsection twenty-five per centum of any number of films is not a whole number any fraction not less than one-half shall be deemed to be a whole number.

The number of quota films that may be rejected by an exhibitor pursuant to this section shall be inclusive of and not in addition to the number of quota films (if any) that may be rejected by the exhibitor in terms of any contract with the renter, but no contract between the exhibitor and the renter shall be effective to restrict the exhibitor’s choice of quota films that may be rejected by him within the limits hereinbefore prescribed by this section.

For the purpose of determining the extent of an exhibitor’s right of rejection under this section, all contracts made between a renter and an exhibitor shall be deemed to be one contract if such contracts provide for the supply to the exhibitor for exhibition in any one theatre, or in any one of a number of specified theatres, of films released or to be released by the renter during any film-renting season.

Section thirty-nine of the principal Act, and section fifty of the Finance Act, 1930, are hereby repealed.

Notice of his intention to reject any film pursuant to any right of rejection conferred on any exhibitor by the last preceding section or by any contract shall be given by the exhibitor to the renter within twenty-one days after the receipt by the exhibitor of a notification from the renter that such film will be available for exhibition by the exhibitor in terms of his contract:

Provided that in the case of a film that has not been released when such notification is given by the renter, the exhibitor may give notice of his intention to reject such film at any time within twenty-one days after its release or within twenty-one days after the film has been otherwise made available for view by the exhibitor or by some person nominated by the exhibitor to view it on his behalf at a screening arranged by the renter.

Any notification given by a renter to an exhibitor for the purposes of this section with reference to a film that has been released before such notification is given shall specify the theatre in which such film was released, and such other particulars (if any) relating to prior exhibitions of the film as may be prescribed.

For the purposes of this and the last preceding section the right to select any film or films from any number of films, the subject-matter of a film-renting contract, shall be deemed to be a right to reject any unselected film or films.

The Minister is hereby empowered to prescribe or approve the terms and conditions of a standard form of film-renting contract. When such standard form has been prescribed or approved as aforesaid, and so long as it remains in force, all film-renting contracts (whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) with reference to films exhibited on or after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-five, shall be read subject thereto, and in so far as the terms and conditions of any such contract purport to negative or are inconsistent with any of the terms or conditions of the standard form they shall not be binding either on the exhibitor or the renter.

Without in any way limiting the discretion of the Minister to prescribe or approve the terms and conditions of a standard form of contract, the Minister is hereby expressly empowered to include in such standard form a provision to the effect that the exhibitor shall not by the terms of any contract with a renter be required to charge for admission to any theatre a minimum fee exceeding sixpence for adults or threepence for children or such higher minimum fees as the Minister may, either generally or in any particular circumstances, think proper.

Before approving any standard form of contract for the purposes of this section the Minister shall submit the same to the Advisory Committee appointed under section forty-one of the principal Act, for its consideration and recommendations.

The approval by the Minister of any standard form of contract in accordance with this section shall be effective for such period, not exceeding two years, as the Minister may specify in giving his approval:

Provided that such standard form of contract may be at any time varied with the approval of the Minister given on a joint application made by or on behalf of a majority of the renters and a majority of the exhibitors for the time being licensed under the principal Act:

Provided also that if, on the expiration of the period for which the approval by the Minister of a standard form of contract has been given, a new standard form has not been approved, the approved form shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, continue to be operative until it is superseded on the approval of a new standard form.

No contract entered into while an approved standard form of contract is operative shall be affected by any variation thereafter made in that standard form or by the approval of a new standard form in lieu thereof.

If in any film-renting contract made before the passing of this Act, or made after the passing of this Act and before the approval by the Minister of a standard form of contract in accordance with the last preceding section, provision is made for the cancellation of the contract at the option of the renter, on any ground other than the default of the exhibitor in the performance of the terms of the contract, such provision shall be absolutely void and of no effect.

Every licensed renter shall be guilty of an offence against this section who, on application by a licensed exhibitor who is otherwise unable to obtain an adequate supply of films on usual trade terms and conditions, refuses to rent any released film to such exhibitor, on the terms and conditions usually applicable in the circumstances of the business of such exhibitor and such renter respectively, unless, when such application is made, that film is the subject-matter of a film-renting contract with a competitive exhibitor and has not been rejected by him, or is the subject-matter of bona fide negotiations for renting with a competitive exhibitor.

Every licensed exhibitor shall be guilty of an offence against this section who at any time hires any films in excess of the number of films reasonably required by him for exhibition in any theatre or theatres in respect of which he is licensed.

Every person who commits an offence against this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of one hundred pounds.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section fifty of the Justices of the Peace Act, 1927, proceedings for an offence against this section may be commenced at any time within two years from the commission of the offence.

No prosecution for an offence against this section shall be instituted except with the consent of the Minister of Industries and Commerce.

Nothing in the principal Act shall be construed to restrict the powers conferred on the Governor-General in Council by section twenty-six of the Board of Trade Act, 1919, and regulations may accordingly be made under that section in relation to the renting or exhibition of films in New Zealand.

Such regulations may authorize the person for the time being having authority to issue licenses under the principal Act to refuse in any special circumstances indicated therein to grant a renter’s license or an exhibitor’s license to any applicant therefor.

On the conviction of the holder of an exhibitor’s license or of a renter’s license for any offence against the principal Act (including this Act), the convicting Court may, in addition to any other penalty, cancel such license, and may direct that the person convicted shall not be qualified to receive a new license in respect of the same or any other premises for such period, not exceeding twelve months, as the Court may determine.

Section forty of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting the words “not less than” before the words “twelve and one-half per centum”.