Lucie works as an audio description editor for streaming platforms. She is an enthusiastic cinema-goer, even though in the city where she lives there is no regular program for people with visual impairments. She works for the One World festival as an organizer of assistance for blind visitors.
“When I sit down in the cinema, I feel energized. It is an incredible experience. After the film, I leave with the feeling that I enjoyed it just like everyone else.”
Accessibility
Before visiting the cinema, blind visitors must know the route. It is appropriate to provide information about the cinema on websites – the nearest public transport stop, information about the interior space.
At festivals, it is appropriate to ensure assistance that accompanies visitors from the public transport stop.
It is welcome to provide basic guiding training for cinema/festival staff and volunteers. For a blind visitor, stairs are not a problem, but it is important that there are no unnecessary obstacles in the space.
More than technical aids – beacons and guiding lines – human assistance is valued: staff or volunteers who guide visitors, have basic knowledge of guiding, accompany them to the screening room, or provide information.
Programming
Before entering the screening room, it is appropriate to have assistance that guides visitors to their seats and helps them put on and adjust the headphones with audio description.
Audio description in headphones (receivers) is preferred. It is welcome to experiment with mobile applications that could in the future facilitate playback and reduce costs for cinemas.
It is important to collaborate with a blind person when creating audio description. Feedback is very important, and if there are no funds to revise the audio description, notes can be valuable for the future.
Do not be afraid of experimentation: live audio description is a functional format that can be used, for example, at festivals. However, collaboration with a blind person in its creation and editing is important.
It is inappropriate if the audio description is too extensive and the visitor is exposed to constant text. Film details may be missed. For this reason, it is better if films with audio description contain less dialogue.
Foreign-language films are not a problem if the audio description is produced sensitively and the entire film is narrated by at least two voices.
Communication
Blind visitors in the Czech Republic and Slovakia mostly obtain information online: on cinema websites and on Facebook. It is necessary to provide information about the space, the course of the event, and clearly distinguish events with audio description. Facebook groups are widely used among blind visitors.
It is important to have an accessible website that can be audited with the help of specialized organizations.
The best way to promote events for blind visitors is to use their personal experience, the experiences of audiences – for example, through short videos on social media, where they can address other people who may be afraid or feel uncertain.
It is important to connect with organizations that work with blind people or provide services and assistance to this community.
Printed materials are not especially important, but many blind people read magazines intended for this community.
Spaces
It is great if there is a pleasant atmosphere in the space: sound, smell, good seating, and kind people.
The cinema is a unique experience, even though it is possible to watch films at home almost every day. In most cases, audio description is better in the cinema.
Experiencing a film together with other visitors on an equal level is an amazing experience that energizes.
Blind people have no problem traveling for film experiences (for example, to festivals), but there should be more opportunities in local and smaller cinemas.
Blind viewers watch films from childhood, similarly to children without visual impairment. After music/concerts, it is the most accessible form of cultural experience.
Cinemas can be a space of advocacy, demonstrating good practice in accessibility and expanding opportunities for cultural participation for a group of blind people who live ordinary lives like everyone else.
