Barrier-free Cinema: the project
European films have been in the past and are still important for calling attention to the continent's film industry. Thanks to international success at major festivals, numerous discussions now revolve around Europe's films, and the past few years have seen important box-office successes in domestic theaters too.
At the same time certain individuals in the German-speaking countries are unable to enjoy these films, or only to a limited degree: the visually and hearing impaired. They number more than 1.2 million in Austria alone.
Film producers and members of the audiovisual industry often ask themselves how these individuals experience the films they make. There is an apparent contradiction between the product and what can be seen or heard, which is why making our productions accessible to these individuals is important to us.
Thanks to audio description, the induction loop and subtitle glasses, BARRIER-FREE FILMS makes film enjoyment for all movie-goers possible for the first time ever. The hearing and visually impaired as well as those with normal hearing and vision can participate in our media culture, which is increasingly visually oriented, without others being inconvenienced in any way.
This project's first step will be adapting films for the hearing and visually impaired as a permanent and integral part of our work, in this way enabling barrier-free access to the information and entertainment medium of cinema.