Vicdeaf -
Action on Cinema Access puts the cinema industry on notice with protest
18 February 2010
Action on Cinema Access, a community group of deaf, hard of hearing, blind and vision impaired people and their supporters, last Saturday put the cinema industry on notice with their national protest against inaccessible cinema. A nationwide protest held in all capital cities on Saturday 13 February, 11am (local time) resulted in a fantastic turnout of more than 450 protestors. With only 0.3% of screenings nationally providing captioning and audio-description, protestors have clearly signalled that this level of access is simply not good enough.
With placards reading SAY NO TO DISCRIMINATION and INACCESSIBLE IS UNACCEPTABLE, protestors across Australia demanded that the cinema industry stop discriminating against the 4 million Australians who need these services in order to enjoy our nation's favourite form of entertainment.
Mothers of deaf children spoke movingly of their sadness in having to deny their children's request to go to the movies because a captioned session was not available for many weeks.
Young people miss out on sharing popular and current cinema culture with their friends and families.
People with a disability do not wish to be marginalised by being offered screenings at times when nobody else wants to go to the cinema. Everyone wants to go to the cinema with friends or family at convenient times. We all expect freedom of choice, spontaneity, convenience and flexibility when we go to the cinema.
Widespread community and media interest included:
- Comprehensive coverage on SBS & ABC TV
- Articles in the Adelaide Sunday Mail and the Sunday Tasmanian (Download at http://artsaccess.com.au/accessing-the-arts/audience-industry-development/action-on-cinema-access/)
- Sydney Blog: http://ilsordo.blogspot.com/2010/02/cinema-access-saturday.html
- Mention in The Age Shortcuts section, 11/02/10
- Articles in the Melbourne Age:
• http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/contributors/memo-cinema-chains-the-deaf-enjoy-movies-too-20100129-n354.html
• http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/writings-on-the-cinema-wall-when-it-comes-to-equal-access-20100215-o2tl.html
- Article in Encore Magazine: http://www.encoremagazine.com.au/blind-and-deaf-communities-demand-accessible-screenings-1080#more-1080
- Greens Support Action on Cinema Access! http://mps.vic.greens.org.au/node/1653
- You can view all the images from the day by clicking here – http://artsaccess.com.au/artistic-program/image-gallery/
However, this protest is only the beginning. We need to keep the momentum going and keep making a noise until we win the battle!
Federal legislation requires cinemas not to discriminate against people with a disability. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) has been law for 18 years.
Why has the cinema industry done so little in 18 years? Why has the cinema industry not complied with requirements of the DDA, the law?
With the proportion of Australians with a disability reaching 20%, creating a focus on access has become an imperative. We believe that EVERYONE has a right to access the cinema.
THE NEXT STEP:
Postcards - you can send an electronic or printed postcard to Parliament. You can download an electronic version of the ePostcard at http://artsaccess.com.au/accessing-the-arts/audience-industry-development/action-on-cinema-access/
If you would like to be sent printed postcards to distribute to your friends or networks, please email us at communications@artsaccess.com.au with your name and address, and roughly how many postcards you would like (ie. 10, 20, 50 etc.).
Mailing List - if you would like to join our mailing list, please send your name, email address and organisation (if applicable) to communications@artsaccess.com.au
Next Meeting - The next meeting of the Action on Cinema Access working group will take place on Monday 22 February, 6.30pm at Arts Access Victoria, 24 Eastern Road, South Melbourne. If you would like to attend, please email us at: communications@artsaccess.com.au