Consumers hail accessible cinema expansion

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Wednesday, 21 July 2010 09:06am

 

The announcement that major cinemas around Australia will be made more accessible by the end of 2014 has been hailed by consumers and consumer groups. The cinema chains of Hoyts, Village, Greater Union Birch Carroll & Coyle and Reading have agreed to expand accessible services to a minimum of 132 locations.

This expansion includes audio description and a new captioning technology called CaptiView.

For those fighting for accessible cinema, this is an exciting result. Australia is considerably behind countries such as the UK and USA and this move is a substantial one in catching up.

For John Byrne, a West Australian deaf man, this is a welcome change. Byrne remembers sitting in the back of a cinema with his daughter and a notepad as she ‘captioned’ for him.

It was Byrne who championed a change in Australian cinemas ten years ago. On hearing the news that all major cinemas will be made accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired, Byrne said, “I would like to congratulate the cinema industry and community stakeholders on the development of the next stage of accessible cinema in Australia.”

Media Access Australia (MAA) has been involved in the development of accessible cinema in Australia since its inception in 2001. With strong ties to international access service providers, MAA has contributed advice on technologies and developments to stakeholders through all stages of the program’s growth. 

MAA CEO Alex Varley said of the change, “This initiative by the cinemas provides full access anytime for consumers, coupled with a commercial return for the cinema operator. This is a great example of access working in the mainstream, creating a win-win situation for everybody.”

Disability organisations around Australia that have been pushing for accessibility are also thrilled about the steps these cinemas are taking.

Deafness Forum of Australia has been heavily involved in encouraging the change. CEO Nicole Lawder said, “We are looking forward to trialling the new captioning system and the prospect of being able to go to any session of any movie is certainly enticing – at last Australians who are Deaf or have a hearing impairment will have real access to the cinema.”

Vision Australia works with people who are blind and vision impaired and reminds us of the importance of audio description. John Simpson, National Manager Audio Description Services at Vision Australia, said, “The vast majority of Australians who are blind or have low vision have lost sight in later life and many of these have previously been avid cinema goers.  Now with the widespread availability of audio description these people will again appreciate the full cinema experience. “

Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) has been active in lobbying for change for years, and is thrilled that the major chains have agreed to this expansion in access. Executive Officer Robyn Gaile said, “We welcome this announcement. This is a major step forward for the social inclusion of people who are blind or vision impaired. Now, for the first time, we can discuss the latest movies with our friends, families and work colleagues”.

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