CEALEARNING DISABILITY AND AUTISMGROUP

12 June 2014 (12:00 – 13:00)

Venue: CTBF Boardroom, 22 Golden Square, London W1F 9JW

Present :

Phil Clapp / CEA
Grainne Peat / CEA
Rick Williams / Freeney Williams
Cliff / Freeney Williams
Sanchi Murison / Dimensions
Susie Higgs / Cineworld
Shaun Jones / Cineworld
Conor McCormack / Cineworld
Lucy Orr / Picturehouse
Tony Williams / Consultant
Marc Lomas / Odeon
Rachel Murgatroyd / Odeon
Lenka Tanner / Showcase
Paula Redshaw / Showcase
Kate Gardhouse / Vue
Aisling Magill / Into Film
Heather Wildman / National Autism Society

1.Welcome and introductions

1.1Phil Clapp (PC)welcomed everyone and explained the origins of this subgroup.

2.Autism friendly screenings (AFS) update

World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) 2014

2.1Grainne Peat (GP) thanked everyone for their involvement in and support of WAAD, where 633 screenings had taken place, 246 on the day itself. The event had been so well-received that it was already planned to repeat and build on this in 2015. GP noted that while national coverage was disappointing, local media coverage had been more successful. Additionally, it had proved a great opportunity for smaller operators to start putting on AFS, which too received very positive feedback.

2.2GP invited the group to feedback on the campaign. During discussion, the following points were made:

-Kate Gardhouse (KG) confirmed that Vuehad held additional Sunday screenings for WAAD in all of their sites. This month was the first anniversary of these screenings at Vue;

-Rick Williams (RW) queried attendance at screenings; KG explained it was difficult to say,as AFS tickets were sold at lower prices, which meant manyscreens sold out. It was difficult therefore to determine what percentage of the audience was present out of need as opposed to lower ticket price;

-Susie Higgs (SH) confirmed that Cineworld had held very successful Wednesday screenings which attracted very positive feedback. They hoped to increase numbers going forward. Tickets for AFS were atstandard price;

-Lucy Orr (LO) confirmed Picturehouse’s AFS were held in sites around London. It was hoped to extend these regionally. There were 250 additional attendees for WAAD compare to the previous month;

-Lenka Tanner (LT) noted that Showcase’s AFS screenings of Rio 2had shown their best figures for AFS since they started in October 2013. They held one AFS per month at standard price and now hoped to put in additional screenings at all their sites.

2.3PC asked whether the additional screenings impacted on attendance for the originally-programmed shows. He also asked whether, given the nature of the audience, sufficient time was allowed to engage families to attend. Sanchi Murison (SM) confirmed that the latter should not be a problem provided they were communicated well in advance, something Dimensions were happy to help with.

2.4Dimension were delighted that everyone had come on board to support these screenings, which had been very well-received.There had been a lot of positive engagement through social media and the launch event had gone well. SM read out somefeedback from the families that attended.

2.5SM also shared the collected statistics that Dimensions had received for WAAD. They have recorded around 6,000 attendees, an additional 2,000 visits to their monthly statistics of people attending AFS.

2.6SM agreed that press coverage of the launch event had been disappointing. Going forward it would be good to see a wider range of content made available for AFS; perhaps this should be looked at for next year’s campaign. As an example, SM explained that both Vue and Showcase had held AFS of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Vue had enjoyed such success that they added additional screenings. LO asked if these were run in the same way as film screenings. KG confirmed that they were.

2.7Marc Lomas (ML) felt WAAD went well. Odeon had run screenings on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of both Muppets most Wanted and Rio 2, with over 1,000 people attending the screenings on Thursday and Friday.

2.8PC thanked colleagues at Disney and Fox in particular for their support. Moving forward, next year’s campaign would focus on: introducing a broader range of content focusing on local community outreach, building awareness throughout the year; and sharing stories on the lead up to WAAD 2015.

2.9RW asked if there were any issue of overlap in programming where venues were close together. LO confirmed that a small number of sites had raised concerns, where nearby circuits were showing the same film, but there seemed to have been no significant impact on numbers. RW suggested it might in future be worth coordinating screenings with different operators. KG confirmed that Vue and Cineworld alternate their screenings dates where they operated close by.

2.10PC asked Dimensions whether they had any sense that parents with children with autism were less willing to travel than other parents. SM said that she felt that this was the case, though parents generally chose depending on where they live, ability to travel (generally somewhere less than one hour’s drive) and parking facilities.

2.11PC asked colleagues for an update on their companies plans. During discussion, the following points were made:

-KG Said that Vue was intending to introducing a wider range of content for AFS. The NT Live production the The Curious Incident…was a promising start, but the company would also be screening an AFS of Mrs Brown’s Boys(15 cert.);

-SH noted that Cineworld currently had 73 cinemas involved in AFS, with a further 6 to join. They were looking to reach out to local communities and would respond to regional needs. For Cineworld, The Lego Movie had been particularly successful with 2,000 admissions in one day;

-Heather Wildman (HW) said that NAS have regional branches which stood ready to help reach out and to communicate with local communities about AFS;

-LO noted that most Picturehousesites now hosted AFS in partnership with schools. Following feedback they would be making some changes to the timings of the screenings. SH asked if Picturehouse had been approached by local schools. LO confirmed that this had been the case with one or two sites;

-LT reported that Showcase would start diversifying their content over the next six months to reach out to the wider community;

-ML confirmed that 96 Odeon sites currently screened AFS, but the company would now too be reaching out to the local communities and start screenings on different days/evenings to reach out to an older audience;

-RW asked how cost effective AFS screenings were for the circuits. Shaun Jones (SJ) explained that there were so few within the scope of their overall programming that it did not make a significant impact either way. And of course AFS screenings were not put on with the sole purpose of making a profit. SM also noted that the benefits for the audience, which was continuously growing, far outweighed the costs.

3.Relaxed Screenings

3.1GP noted there had been discussions around using the term ‘relaxed screenings’ for AFS, as was the case in theatre. GP asked for any thoughts on whether the sector should also being using this term.

3.2SM said that in her mind, the two were very different. She would therefore be unhappy were this change to be suggested. Since AFS had been launched with Odeon over three years again, that term shad become ingrained and associated with film. HW agreed with this.

3.3RW said he understood the resistance to this, but asked how we can best the environment provided in an AFS to people with cognitive disorders could be communicated. SM noted that people with sensory and learning disabilities were all able to attend AFS. KG confirmed that their AFS were all inclusive and did not restrict people from attending.

3.4PC said that there seemed to be a consensus that we should not confuse the message and therefore that the term FS should be retained.

3.5SM reported that they have had an enquiry from Russia on how to put on AFS. PC said this was very interesting and asked for SM to forward details.

4.Into Film Festival

4.1Aisling Magill (AM) from Into Film spoke to her presentation, explaining the background on the Into Film Festival. During her presentation she made the following points:

-The two key objectives of this were to increase respect for the value of film and to encourage people to go to the cinema more often (as paying customers);

-The Festival would run from 4 – 21 November 2014. To date Into Film hadover 500 cinemas signed up to take park across the UK. They were hoping to host an AFS in every region;

-249 AFS screenings had so far been confirmed, providing a good opportunity to once again promote the good work of the industry and encourage more exhibitors to start putting on AFS;

-Programming for the AFS would be inclusive and wide-ranging. There was a particular focus on titles for children aged 11 years and above and would like to consult with exhibitors on potential content.

4.2In summary, AM said that Into Film came with three ‘asks’ to those present:

-To help to communicate information within their networks;

-To provide feedback on last year’s event - what could be done to improve the Festival for members and audiences;

-To become involved in a consultation being undertaking by the Festival team on programming and organisation.

4.3The group confirmed that they were happy to help in any way. The CEA would circulate AM’s details for direct follow up.

5.Any other business

NAS – new strategy ‘culture’

5.1HW told the group that NAS were looking to launch a new strategy with a focus on culture. They were currently undertaking research to see what cultural activities were not available to people with autism. In the Autumn they would be hosting a national event - ‘autismcon’

CEA Card website

5.2RW noted that the new CEA Card website will have details of AFS screenings on the access page summary. SM asked if the AFS logo wouldbe included. RW confirmed this weould be added.

Emergency evacuation

5.3KG raised an issue Vue had experienced with a customer in a heavy electric wheelchair and asked about where this left the cinema should there be a need for an emergency evacuation.

5.4RW confirmed that cinemas are ultimately responsible for planning emergency evacuation and guidance available on Communities and Local Government website on emergency evacuation of disabled people which should be the guiding principles

This guidance was reflected in the CEA’s own guidance and suggested they develop a generic emergency evacuation plan for disabled people and then it is customised for each venue which should be added to their standard evacuation plans for that venue. Staff would have to be trained and made aware of the plans and what their roles would be.

As a last resort, RW noted that access could be refused but the operators would need to demonstrate that there was no other option and that a real safety risk existed and could be demonstrated by a risk assessment.

6.Date of next meeting

6.1PC said that another meeting would be scheduled for towards the end of the year, probably December. The CEA would circulate possible dates.

END