Many cinemas across the country offer relaxed environment or autism-friendly screenings, with adaptations to make the space more comfortable and accessible for autistic people to enjoy film as individuals or with their families.
Organisations such as the UK Cinema Association, Dimensions, National Autistic Society and BFI FAN have worked with cinemas to support them in welcoming autistic audiences.
We have provided some training resources and information on this page to help you host Relaxed Screenings in your venue.
Cinema and film can be an inspiring and powerful tool for representation and developing awareness projects. Find some inspiration on this page about previous and existing projects, films, or information for further research and planning ideas.
Jo attended Opening our Doors: Inclusive Cinema in Glasgow 2019 to run a workshop on marketing diverse titles for audiences.
“One of things I enjoy most about working on grassroots and outreach marketing on film projects is the sheer diversity of campaigns you can be involved with as well as the creative freedom you can exercise on the below the line activity associated with these projects.
“As cinemas, community cinemas or festivals its imperative you treat grassroots/outreach marketing as an integral part of your audience development programme – you’ll need to nurture and cultivate these relationships over time.
“Look at your programme at a whole and find the common links between films – look at I, Daniel Blake and Nae Pasaran! for instance, there is definitely a crossover in terms of the politics or looking at young empowered female led films like Patti Cake$ and Skate Kitchen. Be as strategic as you can with your programming.
“Organisations and individuals you engage with will become your ambassadors and champions so its important you keep the conversations with them going even during your quieter periods or between events.
“Also as local organisations you’re a unique position to understand the sensitivities and culture of your community, this is a massive advantage – think of all the knowledge you have and how it can be best used!”
2680 out of 7000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.
International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. In 2019, the United Nations declared The Year of Indigenous Languages (IY2019) to raise awareness and recognise the important cultural value that they bring to our world.
The UN has proclaimed 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages to draw global attention on the critical situation of many indigenous languages.
This is a great time to focus on planning screenings of films not in the English language, learn about the challenges Indigenous languages face by connecting people through language and culture through film.
February is LGBT+ History Month in the United Kingdom. It’s a month to celebrate the heritage, culture and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex self-defining groups.
Activists and allies can support by:
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.
Oral presentations often make use of visual aids such as PowerPoint presentations. If consideration is not given to blind and partially sighted members of the audience, a presentation can be inaccessible. The World Blind Union (WBU) produce simple guidelines on how to maximise your impact by ensuring that your presentation, and your delivery technique, is … More
To encourage new young audiences to experience theatre, the Arts Council’s A Night Less Ordinary scheme in association with Metro offered over half a million (618,000) free theatre tickets to anyone under 26 at more than 200 venues throughout England. In this video Jane Finnis, Culture 24, Jake Orr, www.ayoungertheatre.com, Susan Whiddington, Mousetrap Theatre Projects … More
Accessible, subtitled shows enable film fans with hearing loss to ENJOY rather than endure cinema. For a few hours, the disabling barrier is removed. Last year more than a million attended accessible UK shows!
Accessible Screenings UK is a listing site to help you find information on accessible screenings in UK Cinemas.
Recognising the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, National Coming Out Day brings awareness of LGBTIQ+ experiences across the world.
National Coming Out Day was inspired by a single march. 500,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on October 11, 1987, generating momentum to last for 4 months after the march had ended. During this period, over a hundred LGBTIQ+ identifying individuals gathered outside Washington, DC, and decided on creating a national day to celebrate coming out – this began on the 1st anniversary of their historic march.
Cinemas UK-wide will be sharing LGBTIQ+ stories to encourage acceptance, understanding and celebration in audiences.
