- Is there a schedule that will tell us when each location will be made accessible?
At this stage there is no public schedule that will tell us when each location will be made accessible. Although there are rumours around the current 12 locations being upgraded first of all, this has not been confirmed.
- What will this announcement mean for the 12 independent cinemas that are accessible?
This announcement does not affect the accessible program in the independent cinemas. The 12 independent locations will continue to run open captioned and audio described films for the foreseeable future. With time, these cinemas may switch to a digital movie system and may also switch over to a close captioned system but there are no known plans for this at present.
- Will it cost more to see accessible movies?
No, the price for the movies will be the same as regular sessions. Discounts for students, pensioners, etc, or ticket prices on cinema discount days will apply as usual. Equipment for viewing the captions and hearing the audio description will be made available to patrons as part of the ticket price. Security measures to ensure the safe return of the equipment may be put in place (e.g. leaving a form of ID with the box office) but this is only speculation based on some independent cinema practises.
- Will there be more movies available to us to watch?
Yes. Most movies that are programmed onto an accessible screen will be available with access features. Remember, some cinemas will have two or three accessible screens, so patrons will have the opportunity to see more than one movie in the one week. It is also possible that one accessible screen may show different accessible movies on the same day. There will no longer be one separate, national, accessible movie schedule where the same movie plays in every accessible location.
- Will there still be a delay between the non-accessible and accessible movie release?
No. Access features for movies should be available from the first day of a movie’s national release.
- How will we know when the accessible sessions are on?
One of the issues for consideration by the newly formed Accessible Cinema Advisory Group (ACAG) is the advertising of accessible sessions. This issue is highly important to ensure that patrons are provided with accurate and timely session information by the cinemas. Cinemas will be advertising the sessions through their usual mechanisms of newspapers and websites, and the Your Local Cinema website will complement these sources.
- What will happen to the Your Local Cinema website?
The website will remain in operation to complement the cinemas’ own advertising of accessible sessions. There will be changes to its structure to accommodate many more locations, but all changes will be done in line with W3C guidelines.
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