PRESS RELEASE

DISABILITY GROUPS WELCOME INDUSTRY MOVE TO IMPROVE CINEMA EXPERIENCE

28th February 2013.The Cinema Exhibitors’ Association (CEA) - the trade body for UK cinema operators - in partnership with members of the Disability Working Group, has released its first industry-wide film and training pack – “Welcoming Disabled Customers” for use by cinemas across the country.

The training pack contains actionable guidance for cinema staff to help ensure that disabled cinema goers in the UK have the opportunity to see films at their best, in the environment that the Director intended.Jointly funded by the UKs major cinema chains as well as the CEA this is the first time the industry has collectively supported a resource of this kind for the benefit of the broader industry and all of its disabled customers.

Emma Lindsay, Leonard Cheshire Disability’s NationalCampaigns Manager,said: “Everyone should be able to enjoy their cinema experience, appreciate a film and have a night out. So it’s really positive to see that the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association is taking steps to make sure that disabled people with a wide range of impairments have access to all cinemas. Awareness among staff is absolutely vital if people’s differing needs are to be met.”

Dr Roger Wicks, Director of Research, Policy and Government Relations Action on Hearing Loss said: “We welcome the disability training pack that has been developed by the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association. Access to cinemas is an important issue for film fans with hearing loss as their experience varies depending on staff attitudes and the availability of assistive equipment or subtitles in each venue. We urge all cinema staff to use this training to ensure they provide the same level of service to deaf or hard of hearing people as they do for other customers.”

The CEA represents over 90 per cent of UK cinema operators and all of its members are being encouraged to use the new resource. Every major cinema chain and many smaller operations are already in the process of integrating this new material into their induction and refresher training programmes. Some cinema sites have very high turnover of staff, with many of their workforce being younger, seasonal, workers. It is a challenge for cinemas to ensure staff have the right level of knowledge to deal with a wide range of customer needs, but the new resource will helpstaff gain a consistent and rigorous understanding of the needs of their disabled customers.

Tanvi Vyas, Trailblazers Campaigns Officer for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, said: “Trailblazers are delighted that the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association is investing in disability equality training. By acknowledging disabled people within the training process and informing cinema staff on how to treat disabled customers, Trailblazers hope to see all disabled customers treated with dignity and understanding like their non-disabled peers. All challenges cannot be resolved overnight, however, and this is a great step in the right direction to make cinemas an accessible, friendly and comfortable environment for all. We look forward to seeing the theory put into practice and seeing a real difference on visits to the cinema.”

The last ten years have seen major improvements in cinema accessibility through better physical access as well as the use of innovative technologies: the UK is a World leader in the provision of subtitled and audio described screenings. In the last year alone, the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association has led several projects addressing accessibility issues for a wide range of disabled customers, including:

  • the popular CEA Card scheme, which offers a free ticket for a disabled person requiring assistance at the cinema. The scheme - which has almost 100,000 members - is designed to make the cinema journey as hassle-free as possible for disabled customers;
  • publishing new guidance for cinemas on the positioning of wheelchair bays in auditoria;
  • advising members on how to make their websites even more accessible;
  • ensuring better provision of access information online, including encouraging more cinema operators to provide online booking of wheelchair bays; and
  • the production and distribution of two new cinema trailers promoting subtitling and audio description services to raise awareness amongst audiences (see

The “Welcoming Disabled Customers” training video trailer can be viewed here.

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For more information please contact:

Dee Davison, Senior Policy Executive
Cinema Exhibitors' Association
T +44 (0)20 7734 9551

M +44 (0) 7899 961 738
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