Blind and deaf communities demand accessible screenings
The Action on Cinema Access campaign will continue after last Saturday’s national protest, until exhibitors offer more alternatives to the blind and deaf communities.
“What they’re offering is not really appropriate for the deaf and the blind communities,” Action on Cinema Access (ACA) spokesman Paul Madden told Encore.
On Saturday, members of the blind and deaf communities met outside a number of cinema complexes in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, to protest against the lack of accessible film screenings and the exhibitors’ application for an exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act.
Cinema chains have applied to the Australian Human Rights Commission for a three-year exemption, in exchange for offering 0.025 percent of all screenings as accessible sessions.
The Commission is yet to make a ruling on this request, but it is expected that a decision will be announced shortly.
ACA believes the exhibitors’ proposal is not enough to service the hearing and visually impaired, compared to 15 percent of screens in the US, and 38 percent in the UK.
“Our current position is that we believe all screenings in all theatres should have the option for adaptive technologies for the deaf and the blind.”
Madden declined to define a minimum percentage of screenings that should be accessible, adding that while “discussion is always productive”, the organisation hopes to get a response from the Government.
“For exhibitors, it might be a matter of finances, of the available technologies. We believe there’s good support emerging, especially for a campaign that is only a month old. We’re writing to federal government ministers, and we hope to get a response from them,” he said.
Encore recently reported on the potential opportunities of captioning and audio description for filmmakers.
