News
Action on Cinema Access awaits Australian Human Rights decision
A nationwide protest was held in all capital cities on Saturday 13 February 2010, galvanizing general consensus that the current level of access to cinema is unacceptable to people who have sensory disabilities, their families and their friends.
Action on Cinema Access, a national campaign, is calling for captioning and audio description at cinemas, to allow the millions of Australians who are Deaf, hard of hearing, legally blind and vision impaired access to enjoy the movies like everyone else.
Currently less than one percent of all screenings across Australia are accessible to people who have sensory impairments. These screenings are limited to a very small number of cinemas that screen a very limited number of films.
Recently, Village, Greater Union, Hoyts and Reading cinemas applied for exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act for two and a half years. If the exemption is granted, these cinemas will continue to provide a minimal amount of captioning and audio description.
Over 450 people and community organisations responded in opposition to the application for Disability Discrimination Act exemption by the cinema chains.The protests outside cinemas across Australia demonstrate this community issue is not going to go away. With hearing loss affecting an increasing number of Australians, the demand for accessible screenings will also be on the rise.
Veronica Pardo, Executive Director of Arts Access Victoria says, " There is concrete evidence of the lack of progress regarding improved access to cinema in Australia, an issue that's been too quiet for too long. A groundswell of community activists are now advocating for change and clearly exposing what needs to improve."
Widespread community and national media interest on the protests included coverage on ABC TV, articles in the Melbourne Age and Encore Magazine.
The Australian Human Rights Commission will make their decision on the application for exemption during the second week of March 2010 and Action on Cinema Access are preparing a response to this decision through continued direct action.
For more information on how to become involved in the community group Action on Cinema Access contact Dean Barton-Smith dbartonsmith@optusnet.com.au, Paul Madden tel: 0419 313 518 or Arts Access Victoria tel: (03) 9699 8299.