Australia plans to add captioning, audio description at hundreds of movie theaters

From Arts Access Victoria in Australia:

Action on Cinema Access and Arts Access Victoria are delighted with the announcement on the weekend by Parliamentary Secretary Bill Shorten regarding the cinemas’ proposal to deliver a dramatic increase to the level of accessible cinema in Australia.

In cinemas across the country we will see a significant rise in the level of access created through a commitment to technical innovation. This will result in more than 240 cinema screens throughout Australia becoming accessible to people who are deaf, or have hearing impairments, and people who are blind or who have visual impairments.

In partnership with government, the four major cinema groups – Hoyts Corporation, Greater Union Organisation, Village Cinemas and Reading Cinemas – will be investing in technical upgrades in cinemas across Australia to improve cinema access for many more Australians.

With the support of the newly-formed Accessible Cinema Advisory Group (ACAG), the four major cinema chains have combined to propose a rollout of accessible cinema technology according to a 4 year plan. By the end of 2014 captions and audio description will be available in at least one screen in every one of the 132 cinema complex run by these operators.

In addition, captions and audio description will be available in:

• one screen for every complex with 6 or less screens
• two screens for every complex with 7 to 12 screens
• three screens for every complex with 13 or more screens

This initiative will deliver a total of 242 accessible screens across Australia.

This outcome marks a decisive victory for the Action on Cinema Access campaign which formed in December 2009 to fight for equal access in cinemas. With a current situation of less than 0.3% of all screenings nationally (that’s 100 out of 41,000 weekly screenings) providing captioning and audio-description, Action on Cinema Access campaigners were determined to send the message that this level of access was simply not good enough.

Action on Cinema Access, supported by Arts Access Victoria and its flagship disability film festival The Other Film Festival, mounted a robust grass roots national campaign and protest against the cinemas’ application for exemption resulting in a staggering 450 responses to the Australian Human Rights Commission. This is the highest number of responses ever generated by a campaign. This landmark decision demonstrates the power of a dedicated group of citizens to bring about change in support of their rights.

We extend our congratulations to the peak representative bodies Blind Citizens Australia, Deaf Australia and Deafness Forum of Australia for their tireless lobbying on behalf of consumers and our thanks to Bill Shorten for his unfailing commitment to advancing the rights of people with a disability in Australia.

Dean Barton-Smith, national spokesperson for Action on Cinema Access said:

“Everyone who took part in our national campaign over the past eight months, should be commended for actively engaging with this issue and sending a strong message to the cinema industry that access is not a privilege but a right. Their voice was heard.

“Whilst the level of access in the roll out plan is significantly improved from the initial cinema proposal, critical work begins for the Advisory Group to consult with the community regarding accessible technologies to ensure Australians with a disability, their family and friends can have a positive and rewarding movie experience. Exciting times ahead.”

As the rollout commences, we will be an ongoing forum consumers about accessible cinema. The next phase of the Action on Cinema Access campaign will be to gather community feedback about the new access technology that will be trialled. We urge consumers to test the new technology by attending screenings and providing feedback via our online portal.