A trip to the cinema is one of life’s great pleasures, but it’s not always a supportive environment for people living with dementia. Here are five ways cinemas can become more dementia-friendly.
A growing number of cinemas are opening their doors to people with dementia. Here’s what you need to know about dementia-friendly cinema screenings.
Turning Up the Volume: unheard voices of dementia is an unprecedented look at the real picture of living with dementia today, from the people who know. It dials up the voice of people who have the disease – which is too often muffled or ignored – telling their stories, and presenting a picture of their … More
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, with a focus on World Alzheimer’s day on 21st September. It can highlight the importance of taking the time to talk and helping to break the silence around dementia.
The month is a global opportunity to raise awareness around dementia, one of the biggest challenges we face, with nearly 50 million people living with dementia worldwide. it is important for everyone to understand how it impacts the daily lives of people affected by the condition and challenge the stigma that surrounds it. People and organisations have a chance to demonstrate how we can overcome these issues and help people live well with dementia. Find out more about how to get involved in the UK from Alzheimer’s Society.
We can help by working together, collaborating and sharing best practice with one another. We have included some resources below to help get you started. You may want to join the Dementia Friends movement, or help by sharing information with friends, family and colleagues.
Cinema and film can be an inspiring and powerful tool for representation and developing awareness projects. Find some inspiration on this page for further research and planning ideas. There is also some information about setting up online film clubs and resources to help plan in this difficult time due to coronavirus.
Dementia-friendly cinema screenings create a slice of normal life for people living with dementia, a chance to experience film in a relaxed and supported environment. The screenings have adaptations to make the space more comfortable and accessible for people living with dementia to enjoy film, as individuals or with their families. Organisations such as the UK Cinema Association, Alzheimers Society and FAN have worked with cinemas to support them in welcoming audiences living with dementia.
During coronavirus, there were restrictions on dementia-friendly screenings as public events could be a higher risk activity for some audiences living with dementia, or for people who are living in care homes. Make sure to follow current advice on dementia friendly cinema from the Alzheimers Society.
We believe we should be constantly striving to improve access to film and cinema for all audiences and have provided some training resources and information on this page to help you host Dementia Friendly Screenings in your venue.
These resources may also assist and inspire you towards creating a more accessible and inclusive experience for your events more generally, for example increasing staff and audience awareness, introducing a more relaxed policy to your screenings, providing quiet spaces or improving signage.
Cinema’s can offer much needed support. The Alzheimer’s Society need organisations to take action and support people affected by dementia to keep them connected to their culture and their community in new and creative ways. Here are some of the key actions they suggest you can do to make a difference to people’s lives:
We would love to know about your film or cinema project at Inclusive Cinema. If you’d like to submit your own case study, please download this Inclusive screening case study template and submit it to includeme[at]filmhubwales.org, so we can share your experiences, too.
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.
