What this toolkit is

This toolkit is, foremostly, a practical guide for improving the experiences of POC (people of colour) audiences, staff and filmmakers – and other intersections including gender, sexuality, disability, income and class. Whilst the harm and discrimination POC face in the arts both as workers and audiences is firmly rooted within institutional and systemic injustice, preventing immediate harm is the key priority – and that begins with immediate, though not as radical, reform. This goes beyond representation, and towards creating a space built for all people rather than for primarily white audiences. Whether your cinema is in a rural part of the UK, or in a densely populated city, ethnically diverse audiences are there and it is your cinema’s role to serve them. 

The second function of this toolkit is to create lasting change for future generations, and sustain your organisation in a meaningful way (one which is framed around serving communities and not merely securing funding). To do this, you must play your role in preventing harm on an institutional and systemic level. In addition to immediately actionable tools, this toolkit will encourage inner, reflective and dialogue-based work towards undoing systemic injustice. This work will be longer term, and may at times feel personal, however confronting these uncomfortable spaces from positions of privilege is fundamental to creating wider change. Treat the provocations as actionable on a personal level within your roles and workplaces, because the results will be structural change that will not allow harm to exist within your organisations. 

Who this is for

It is important that this toolkit is offered to all staff members in your cinema or film organisation; from trustees and managers to programmers and front-of-house staff. Whilst some will find responsibility placed on them to action certain aspects, others will be empowered by the conversations around equity this toolkit may enable. We implore you to talk widely within your organisation about the implications of this toolkit, in an environment in which hierarchies are cut away. Pay all staff equally to feed into this dialogue, and you will see what emerges on this new ground.  

Whilst this toolkit has been written in the locale of South Wales, it is aimed towards independent cinemas, festivals, film-based organisations and digital film spaces across the UK – responding to regional differences in audiences, access to funding, rurality and lived experience. 

What can be achieved with this toolkit

We hope that once this toolkit is worked through, you will come away with an understanding that increasing diversity and access is not a means of sustaining your organisation, but of sustaining and resourcing the communities that cinema serves. This document further hopes to provide an opportunity to reflect on your organisation’s intentions, and how to realign those back to serving all audiences and filmmakers. 

Immediate implications will be a reimagining and dismantling of old ways of working, and implementing new models of equity within your organisation and for those who enter your space (whether physical or digital). This is necessary work as a cultural space. It is always possible if there is the will to change, from staff make-up to programming practices, organisational hierarchies to an equalisation of pay; but if there isn’t a will to change, there must be a divestment of power and transference of funding to the communities your organisation is failing to serve. This toolkit will help you confront these different potentials for change. 

This is difficult work because it calls for challenging your positionality, your personal and emotional responses, your attachment to a workplace, your unconscious and conscious biases, your own stability, your lived experiences, and the harmful structures you may benefit from. Then, it calls for a letting go. Inequity is not any one person’s fault but it is our collective responsibility to understand and undo it. And finally, it calls for a real commitment to doing the work.

Download the toolkit.

Download the plain text version.

___

In April 2021, Sadia spoke with BoxOffice Podcast about the toolkit. Listen here and check at the link for a full transcript of the interview.

There are several access schemes operating in the UK which provide benefits, transparency when negotiating a trip to the cinema.

Cards

CEA Card – The CEA Card is a national card scheme developed for UK cinemas by the UK Cinema Association (UKCA). The Card enables a disabled cinema guest to receive a complimentary ticket for someone to go with them when they visit a participating cinema. The Card is also one way for cinemas to make sure they look after their disabled guests. If you require an adjustment to visit a cinema because of your disability, cinema staff should make them for you whether you have a CEA Card or not.

Nimbus Card – The Access Card translates a cardholder’s disability / impairment into symbols which highlight the barriers they face and the reasonable adjustments they might need. This then informs providers quickly and discreetly about the support needed and may gain holders access to things like concessionary ticket prices and complex reasonable adjustments without having to go into loads of personal detail. It’s all based on rights outlined in the Equality Act and providers responsibilities.

HYNT Card – Hynt is a national access scheme that works with theatres and arts centres in Wales to make sure there is a consistent offer available for visitors with an impairment or specific access requirement, and their Carers or Personal Assistants. If you need support or assistance to attend a performance at a theatre or arts centre then you may be eligible to join hynt. Each year HYNT holds a symposium for venue staff and other professionals working in the sector.

Campaigns

Nimbus CredAbility – CredAbility is Nimbus’ quality mark. Like the Access Card itself CredAbility was designed and developed by Nimbus; with and for disabled people. It reflects what a commitment to good practice should look like when providing services to a disabled customer.

Gigbuddies – Gigbuddies is NOT about providing free support or replacing statutory services. It’s about enabling people with learning disabilities to have people in their lives who aren’t paid to be there. Gigbuddies match people up with a volunteer who commits to attending at least one gig per month. Gigbuddies is a campaign run by charity, Stay Up Late.

Listings

Euan’s Guide – Euansguide.com is the disabled access review site where disabled people, their family, friends and carers can find and share reviews on the accessibility of venues around the UK and beyond. The site is an invaluable tool for everything from planning a day out, to picking a last-minute place for coffee or lunch. “The aim of Euan’s Guide is to empower disabled people by providing information that will give confidence and choices for getting out and about.” Founder, Euan Macdonald.

AccessAble – AccessAble is here to take the chance out of going out. To give you the accessibility information you need to work out if a place is going to be accessible for you. They’ve surveyed 10,000s of venues across the UK and Ireland, including shops, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, railway stations, hotels, colleges, universities, hospitals and more. Use AccessAble to find wheelchair friendly venues or check out disabled access and facilities.

Relaxed screenings are screenings where the environment has been adapted to be more welcoming and accessible to people with additional needs.

These could be people living with dementia, autism, or other neurodiverse people. These screenings are identifiable by some adjustments such as altered lighting, volume of sound, arrangement of the venue, and usually don’t have trailers, and customers are encouraged to get up and move around, or speak or make noise if they want to/feel the need to. Screenings are usually introduced so that everyone attending realises talking and movement is allowed.

Here is a list to signpost you to some UK venues who currently host Relaxed Screenings or Autism-Friendly Screenings:

UK Relaxed Screenings

Manchester | Relaxed events at HOME

Greenock | Fun Film Club at the Waterfront

Dunoon |  Autism Friendly screenings at Studio Cinema

London |  Relaxed Screenings at BFI Southbank  

Leeds |  Relaxed Screenings at Hyde Park Picture House

Glasgow |  Take 2 Access at Glasgow Film Theatre  

Glasgow |  Access Film Club at Glasgow Film Theatre 

Belfast, Glengormley & Coleraine |  Autism friendly screenings at Movie House Cinemas 

Stockton |  Relaxed performances and screenings at ARC  

Dundee |  Relaxed Screenings at DCA

Worthing | Autism Friendly screenings at Worthing Theatres  

Neath |  Relaxed Screenings at Gwyn Hall     

Walsall, Dudley, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester & Coventry | Autism Friendly Screenings at Showcase Cinemas  

Saffron Walden |  Relaxed Screenings at Saffron Screen        

London |  Relaxed Screenings at Barbican      

Hebden Bridge |  Autism Friendly (Relaxed) Screenings at Hebden Bridge Picture House

Birmingham |  Relaxed events and screenings at Mac  

Canterbury | Accessible film screenings at Gulbenkian    

Chester | Relaxed Screenings at Storyhouse

Merlin Cinemas |  Penzance, Redruth, Falmouth, Torquay, Ilfracombe, Okehampton, Coleford, Cromer, Kingsbridge, Prestatyn  |  Autism friendly screenings at Merlin Cinemas  

The ICO commissioned this toolkit for (primarily) independent film exhibitors to support their work in making their venues and services more inclusive and accessible for visually impaired people.

Sight Loss in the UK

• It is estimated that currently, over two million people in the UK live with sight loss that is severe enough to have a significant impact on their daily lives, such as their not being able to drive.
• Every day, 250 people start to lose their sight in the UK.
• As we get older we are increasingly likely to experience sight loss, and the UK population is ageing. In addition, sight loss is strongly linked with certain medical conditions as well as lifestyle factors such as diabetes and obesity – the rates of which are both rising.
• The number of people with sight loss is estimated to rise to 2.7 million by 2030. By 2050, the current figure will double to over four million.

People living with sight loss want to enjoy the same experiences as everyone else. This includes going to the cinema and there is therefore a strong economic argument for film exhibitors to meet this demand, as well as the obvious social and moral imperatives for cultural organisations to aim to serve everyone within their community.

In addition, cinemas have a legal duty to make their services accessible to all people with disabilities, including visually impaired people, under the Equality Act 2010. People with disabilities who feel they have been refused or denied reasonable access to a service have the option to take the service provider to court.

Organisations that are inclusive and welcoming to people with disabilities gain enhanced community reputation and trust. People with disabilities are loyal to organisations which provide a consistently good and inclusive service.

Read the full ICO guide to Developing Visually Impaired Audiences, and check out their web page on Subtitling and audio description for information around screening accessibly to blind and partially-sighted audiences.