We recommend using professional subtitling and audio description services for your film wherever possible, to ensure the best possible standard and accessibility for your screenings.

To provide subtitles which are accessible for D/deaf audiences you will need to provide caption (descriptive) subtitles for your film, which provide extra information about the sound onscreen as well as dialogue. Subtitling often used for foreign language films translates the dialogue only and assumes a hearing audience. Please check with the individual subtitle supplier whether they provide this.

For foreign language films, you will need a Subtitler and/or Audio Describer who can translate for screen.

Here are details of some UK based organisations who may be able to help:

Subtitling, BSL and Audio Description Services

Matchbox Cineclub  – Subtitling.
Day for Night – Subtitling , audio description, translation in 45 languages.
Voicebox – Subtitling.
Glocal Media – Subtitling and BSL translation for media.
Zebra Uno – Subtitling and BSL translation for media
Capital Captions – Subtitling, audio description and translation.
Screen Language – Subtitling, audio description and translation.
Matinee Multilingual –  Subtitling, audio description and translation in 80+ languages.
Mind’s Eye – Audio Description
Vocal Eyes – Audio Description
Audio Description Association – Offers a directory of freelance Audio Describers, sorted by region.
Sign Language Media – BSL translation for media.
Reflect BSL – BSL translation for media.
Red Bee Media – BSL translation for media.
Bradford Talking Media – Subtitling and BSL translation for media.
Sign Language Direct – BSL translation for media.
Tarjuman – Subtitling and translation.

BSL Interpreter Services

If you are looking for a BSL interpreter for your film screening, event or meeting, here is a list of Interpreter services and organisations who may be able to help:

Action On Hearing Loss – BSL Interpreters, Deafblind interpreters, Lip Speakers, Sign Supported English (SSE) Interpreters.
Clarion UK – BSL Interpreters.
Sign Language Direct – BSL Interpreters and Lip Speakers.
Sign Solutions – BSL Interpreters.
Deaf Umbrella – BSL Interpreters, London and South East (Kent).
Prestige Network – BSL Interpreters.
Zebra Uno – BSL Interpreters, Lip Speakers, Sign Supported English (SSE) Interpreters, Deafblind Interpreters, international Sign Interpreter.
LanguageLine Solutions – BSL Interpreters.
BID Services – BSL Interpreters.
Royal Association for Deaf People – BSL Interpreters, Lip Speakers, Deafblind Interpreters.
Link Hearing – BSL Interpreters.
List of BSL interpreter contacts.

Speech-To-Text and Live Caption Services

AVSTTR (The Association of Speech-To-Text Reporters) – Speech-To-Text Reporters
Action on Hearing Loss – Speech-To-Text Reporters
MyClearText – Speech-To-Text Reporters
Clarion UK – Speech-To-Text Reporters
NRCPD (The National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People) – Speech-To-Text Reporters
BIVR (British Institute of Verbatim Reporters) – Speech-To-Text Reporters
Stagetext – Subtitling and live captioning
AI Live – Live captions
Transcription City – Subtitling and live captioning
Capital Captions – Live captioning

Captioning software

Streamtext – Realtime caption solution
CC Extractor – produces subtitle files from closed captions
Rev.com – transcription, subtitling and captions
Zubtitle – captions for social media
Speakertext – cloud-worker generated captions

Dementia-friendly screenings create a slice of normal life for people living with dementia, a chance to experience film in a relaxed and supported environment. Cinemas across the UK are providing screenings throughout the year, but Dementia Action Week in May is an opportunity to highlight these events, and commit to taking one action to being more dementia-friendly.

People affected by dementia often have to give up the things they love due to inaccessible and unsupportive environments. This includes visiting a cinema.

Cinemas have an important part to play in tackling the social and economic impact of dementia, by allowing people living with dementia to continue to participate in entertainment. Our new cinema guide, produced in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society and UK Cinema Association, is designed to help cinemas improve their accessibility and become more dementia-friendly.

People living with dementia should be able to live the life they want to lead in their communities, irrespective of their condition. This will only be achieved with greater awareness, understanding, and support for those impacted by dementia. Becoming a dementia-friendly organisation means providing the opportunities to help every person with dementia continue to do the things they want to do and cinemas are central to this aim.

From your first family trip to the big screen to seeing the latest blockbusters with friends as a teenager, film is an immersive experience which can leave a profound and lasting impact on an individual. It can promote activity and stimulation of the mind; be an important tool for reminiscence, and is often associated with relaxation, engagement and, above all, enjoyment. By developing an understanding of dementia, cinemas can make a huge difference to people living with dementia.

This guide gives best practice advice on how to run dementia-friendly screenings and shares successful case studies from organisations already running. It aims to spread awareness of dementia-friendly screenings and encourages cinemas of all sizes to get involved.

We have also prepared a dementia friendly survey to assist with gathering data at your screenings.

Access the guide, along with further resources in the downloads section.

Dementia-friendly screenings create a slice of normal life for people living with dementia, a chance to experience film in a relaxed and supported environment. Cinemas across the UK are providing screenings throughout the year, but World Alzheimer’s Month is an opportunity to highlight these events.

Dementia-friendly screenings are sometimes called relaxed screenings, though these can also be suitable for people with multiple sensory sensitivities or different conditions such as autism spectrum disorder or learning disabilities.

Screenings are adapted to make the environment more suitable for people living with dementia. Sometimes, simple adaptations can be enough for someone to experience a slice of ordinary life and enjoy a cinema experience with their companions.

Find out more about running dementia-friendly screenings here or check out the downloads on this page.

Many d/Deaf people report bad experiences in cinemas such as poor customer service, or lack of subtitles on advertised screenings. Because of this, cinema trips can become stressful. d/Deaf audiences of colour may feel further reluctance to go to the cinema if they’ve experienced racial prejudice or don’t feel represented in their cinema. Running a club that supports an intersectional audience in this way creates a safe space for d/Deaf audiences of colour and can provide valuable cultural experiences and social opportunities.

Things to think about

1. Brand the film club, if you can, to give it a strong sense of identity. The catchier the name the better, as it will help with name recognition and perhaps merchandising down the line.
2. Seek endorsement from D/deaf organisations such as BDA (British Deaf Association) and bloggers e.g. Limping Chicken.
3. Enhance your screenings with a forum/extra activity. Create a space for conversation, friendships to flourish, and discussion and debate.
4. Offer food, even just a tea and biscuit break. If you can do something more exciting e.g. ethnic even better. Who doesn’t love free food?!
5. Evaluate through surveys and/or your forum. Collate feedback and use it to improve events on the go. Think about being creative and using visual mechanisms like dot voting or smiley faces. Take feedback well and try not to be offended. Value their opinion and do your best to listen. Discrimination of D/deaf people is called ‘Audism’ and they are probably wary of hearing people, so be understanding if they need to vent.
6. Develop leaders in the group and empower them with responsibility/autonomy, don’t mother or smother. Set up a small committee or steering group, if possible, which will give them even more status and hopefully pride in what they are doing and something that they can add to their CV. Encourage CODAs (Children of D/deaf Adults) and their family members to get involved as well.
7. Consider people with hearing loss who do not sign (e.g. due to old age or through damage) and prefer oralism. Decide if you can also cater for them within the same group.
8. Keep jobs simple and manageable though for the steering group. We’re looking to build confidence, not overwhelm people. Examples of roles can include: –
   – photographer/videographer (they can simply use their mobile phone and upload to – Facebook page/group)
   – someone in charge of registration/surveys
   – additional ushers to support staff
   – someone in charge of refreshments
   – talent booker
   – creator of signed YouTube promos
   – social media manager
9. If you have the choice, find a venue with a great manager who cares. Consider also the demographic of your region, and if your location makes sense. Is it close to the community you’re trying to welcome?
10. Use Whatsapp or a Facebook group to communicate (so you don’t have to worry about book an interpreter everytime you want to liaise with them) with steering group and it could be an easy way to set up film club membership as well. Having that could be a lot less work than maintaining and updating a website for the film club.
11. Set frequency of meetings to discuss managing the film club. If turnout is low, then arrange to meet an hour or so before the event so they can go and enjoy themselves afterwards.
12. Rotate the programme so that it reflects different issues e.g. nationality, race, gender, sexuality, disability etc. in order to represent the intersectionality of the group and make them feel acknowledged on an individual basis. Note that the group might sign in different languages and may not be familiar with BSL or English in general.
13. Use Silent, Anime and World Cinema screenings as an opportunity to draw in the D/deaf and HoH community to your venue and integrate with your mainstream audience. Make sure the film is in the subtitled version, if relevant, as sometimes foreign films drop into English conversation.
14. Learn the tastes of your steering group so that you are able to support their choices of film as there could be many that they have not heard of, let alone seen different genres. When showing them trailers, choose the CC (Closed Caption) option on YouTube, where possible.
15. Consider Black History Month and/or Disability History Month as time for extra celebration or a special season, especially if you are not able to provide an all year round programme.

Whether you are running a specific programme to engage with LGBTQ+ audiences or simply hoping to grow LGBTQ+ representation in your existing screenings, it’s really important to remember some key things to make sure you are sensitively and appropriately programming, promoting, and welcoming audiences in your cinema.

1. Work with LGBTQ+ people themselves, whether it’s working with community or national organisations or with people within your own organisation.
2. Employ a more diverse workforce at all levels. Welcome diverse groups in your job applications and your mission statements.
3. If you can, get training delivered to staff about how to engage sensitively with audiences, and for a better understanding of the experience of LGBTQ+ people.
4. Consider that people have multiple identities so communication needs to work for LGBTQ+ people across your whole programme, and don’t presume that you will only have an LGBTQ+ turnout for your targeted programming.
5. Get LGBTQ+ people to audit your venue to give feedback about how the space feels, about signage, and about the customer service experience.
6. Make sure you take feedback on board and actually use it, and share your reasoning across the organisation.
7. Consider the tone of your signage – can you be gender neutral?
8. Think about lesser told stories – not just the obvious films… Are you including lesbian and trans stories? Think about the filmmakers and if they have credibility.
9. Get LGBTQ+ people to programme and give insights into marketing and audience development. (Best practice with any consultancy is to pay people!)
10. Revise your communications with LGBTQ+ insights – what kind of language do you use? Are you welcoming? Is there subtle prejudice in the way you communicate that needs to be considered?
11. You’ll need to do more community and social marketing. Engage with charities and relevant LGBTQ+ organisations.
12. Use gay bars and clubs/venues and LGBTQ+ centres for your print advertising. If there are Pride events in your calendar, go along…
13. Consider your survey. Do you have all the necessary fields for gender and sexuality? It’s a lot better to ask people to self-identify rather than to designate fields around gender.
14. Could you be gathering deeper, qualitative, useful feedback – can you make yourself available to audiences for interviews/conversations afterwards?
15. Think about opening up a dialogue and your audience will recognise the efforts you are making, and champion you to their networks. Even social media polls can be useful.
16. Make it known that you’re trying to improve and willing to listen and learn.

Access the guide, along with further resources in the downloads section.