Accessible movie selection in accessible theaters

Tugce Celik

The Accessible Film Festival , which will be held for the 13th time in Ankara by Puruli Culture and Arts, will meet with cinema lovers at the Goethe-Institut Ankara between May 23-29 this year. While the films in the festival selection will be shown with audio descriptions and detailed subtitle options, events such as talks and award ceremonies will also be held online.

This year, 165 films from 36 countries applied for the International Short Film Competition. The 15 finalists will be presented to the jury and the audience. The films that win the Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Audience Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held on the evening of May 29. The festival aims to raise social awareness by drawing attention to the difficulties experienced by individuals with disabilities.

Kıvanç Yalçıner, General Coordinator of the Accessible Films Festival, said that disabled individuals experience major problems regarding the most basic rights, from education to employment, from transportation to cultural access. Yalçıner explained the purpose of the festival as follows: "The Accessible Films Festival is a cultural event that tries to carry out its screenings, events, and communication activities by also considering the needs of those with visual, hearing, and orthopedic disabilities. Unfortunately, it does not have the power to change anything on its own. A public space based on equality should be targeted and efforts should be made for this. We aim to provide a benefit by reminding this and bringing it to the agenda."

A SELECTION OF POLITICAL TURMOILS 'A FIRE OF AN ERA'

Yalçıner, who emphasized that they focused on the crises experienced in the world in this year's festival selection, said, "We wanted to prepare a section focusing on the ongoing turmoil in the world for 25 years; political, economic and social changes. This section titled 'A Fire in an Age' includes a selection of seven films, as well as talks and a photo exhibition. There is also a selection titled 'Totally Political' prepared by the Dresden International Short Film Festival. Dresden Short FF is a long-standing short film festival that has been organized for 37 years. The selection they prepared includes 4 short films and 1 documentary that emphasize the politics of the everyday. Festival director Anne Gaschütz will also be with us at the screening of the selection."

IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND ACCESSIBLE LIVING ROOM

Yalçıner, who stated that many cultural organizations were negatively affected by the economic and political crisis environment of the country, said the following: "The Accessible Films Festival is also experiencing the difficulties experienced by all festivals and cultural events. EFF also has its own problems such as finding an accessible movie theater. We are overcoming these problems with the interest of both the audience and filmmakers and the motivation provided by those who support the realization of this festival. The festival has also visited Eskişehir for 9 years. We have an audience in different cities that follow and wait for the festival. There are especially visually impaired moviegoers who frequently reach out to us from other cities and want the festival to visit the cities they live in. We are also working to bring the films we include in the festival program to other cities."

∗∗∗

AUDIO DESCRIPTION WAS MADE FOR CHILDREN

The 'For Children' selection in the festival program was prepared by Cinekid, one of the oldest children's film festivals in the world. In Cinekid's program; The Little Skier, Kuap, The Mystery of the Lost Socks and The Radish Harvest will be presented to young moviegoers with Turkish dubbing and audio description. The selection will meet the audience in a dimly lit hall with the sound level kept low. The audience will be able to have food and drinks in the hall during the screening and will be able to move around as they wish. The 'Autism Friendly Screening', which is organized so that children and young people with autism can watch the films comfortably, will be held at the Goethe-Institut.