Sensei Fran Kicks Ass is our award-winning short documentary that tells the story of the remarkable 82-year-old Fran Vall. Her story could educate and inspire many more people if it was available on Amazon Prime. However, Amazon Prime is refusing to accept the title because the word “Ass” is allegedly a violation of its content standards. Since the film has already played at multiple festivals, submitting to this censorship and changing the title at this point would be confusing for those already familiar with the film by its current title.

We might understand Amazon Prime's censorship if it were in fact applied fairly and consistently. Instead, they won’t budge even though we have pointed out that they already carry Hollywood titles with variations of the word “ass” such as the Jackass series and the Kick-ass series. Even more surprising, using the term “asshole” in a title is not only acceptable to Amazon, but typing it into the search bar will quickly turn up DVDs of hardcore pornography.

This makes the rejection and censorship of our title all the more confounding, and would appear to indicate that small independents are treated differently than Hollywood studios. Like many other independent filmmakers, we have spent many years working on this little documentary because Fran is an inspiration for women of all ages. More than ever, we also need more role models who live their lives with positivity and enthusiasm for connecting with other peoples and cultures.

Thank you for reading. Please sign this petition, not only on behalf of our film, but all independent media makers who are facing unfair and arbitrary censorship from Amazon.

Learn more about the film at www.senseifran.com