The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association and UK film distributors are this week launching a campaign to highlight the availability of audio description (AD) in UK cinemas.
The campaign will go live on Friday 11 July with the release of Twentieth Century Fox’s highly-anticipated Summer blockbuster How to Train your Dragon 2. Fox have created a specially- adapted version of the audio described trailer for the film and have generously donated items for a competition that will run on RNIB’s Insight Radio and in Insight magazine.
Last year, 135 out of 202 English language films released in the UK were available with audio description, while nine out of the top 10 films each week have AD.
Commenting on the campaign, Grainne Peat, Policy Executive at the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association, said:
“The growth in availability of audio described films, and the provision of audio description in UK cinemas, has been one of the key accessibility developments of recent years. With the roll-out of digital projection technology across the whole UK sector, many more cinemas are now capability of providing AD for their customers.
We are delighted to have partnered with RNIB and colleagues in film distribution to help raise awareness on the availability of AD in UK cinemas. People with any degree of sight loss may find AD beneficial and we would encourage everyone to ask their local cinema about the facilities they provide.”