It’s important to ensure everyone in your audience has an enjoyable and comfortable cinema experience. There’s lots you can do to ensure all your audience members feel welcome, such as film access materials like subtitles, captions, audio description. These are just a few tips and useful resources below. We’ll be adding more in the coming months:
Check with your venue whether they have specific accessibility equipment installed, e.g. a Hearing Loop.
You might want to explore running a ‘Relaxed Screening’, designed for people who prefer a less intense cinema experience, for example people living with dementia as well as people with Additional Support Needs.
Our Toward Accessibility Resource provides info and links about different access measures, based on learning from existing community cinemas and their embedded approach to accessibility. It is a word document available to download and was developed and written by Matchbox Cine and commissioned by RSS as part of our Screen Scotland funded programme, Now Showing (Oct 2022-May 2023).
Additionally here are three great resources to start you off:
- Deaf and Disabled Accessibility Guide by SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival) – commissioned for Film Hub Scotland’s Access Forum
- BFI FAN Inclusive Cinema – signposts to practical examples of accessibility
- Sidecard, led by Matchbox Cinesub – online database of film access materials