Access All Areas Film Festival is a FREE event bringing audio described accessible screenings of the best Australian features and short films to venues around Australia.
Movie watching is something many take for granted, one of the great simple pleasures in life. Yet too many Australians are still excluded from the experience. Access All Areas makes the best home-grown films accessible to people of all abilities.
Access All Areas brings the biggest Australian film of the year - The Sapphires - and a family-friendly program of award-winning Australian short films to accessible venues around the country, be they cinemas, community centres or schools.
Access services provided include open captions for the hearing impaired, hearing loops, sign language interpreters, increased wheelchair access and wheelchair seating. Some screenings also feature audio description for the blind or people with low vision.
“I look forward to the festival every year," says Access All Areas attendee Coral Arnold."The screenings with audio description, where the onscreen action is narrated, are a great opportunity for people who are blind or have low vision, like myself, to experience fantastic new films with friends and family, as I am able to follow the movie independently along with sighted family and friends - not upsetting other audience members by having to have whispered conversations.”
Access All Areas Film Festival is an annual event run by non-profit company The Festivalists as part of the Don’t DIS my ABILITY campaign, promoting and celebrating access to film for all Australians.
“The aim of Access All Areas is to show how easy it can be to make culture accessible to everyone,” says Festival Manager Karina Libbey. “We bring great films to audiences that would not otherwise have a chance to enjoy them. The festival promotes inclusiveness and raises awareness of ability and issues surrounding access.”
All tickets are FREE but places must be reserved in advance – please visit www.aaaff.com.au for all screening details.
Cinema Venues
Sydney
Dendy Opera QuaysMonday 3 December
6.00pm – Drinks reception
6.30pm – The Sapphires, 103 mins, PG – [AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Bookings: (02) 9281 5608 or [email protected].
Campbelltown
Campbelltown Arts CentreMonday 3 December
12.00pm - Family Friendly Shorts [AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Sunday 9 December
3.30pm - Family Friendly Shorts [AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
6.00pm - The Sapphires [AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Bookings: Lisa Grimson on (02) 4645 4327 or [email protected].
Casula
Casula Powerhouse Arts CentreTuesday 4 December
10.30am - Family Friendly Shorts [OPEN CAPTIONS] [AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Bookings: Casula Powerhouse Box Office on (02) 9824 1121 or [email protected].
Regional Venues
Access All Areas’ Family Friendly Shorts program travels to community venues across NSW in November and December 2012, including Albury, Parramatta, Rozelle, Taree, Tumut, Wagga Wagga, Western Sydney, West Wyalong, Wingercarribee and Young.For full program information, visit www.aaaff.com.au or contact The Festivalists on 02 9281 5608.
For transport and venue access please call IDEAS:
Toll free: 1800 029 904 or TTY: 02 69473377
Access All Areas is run by The Festivalists, with the assistance of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Department of Family and Community Services, Don’t DIS my ABILITY, Major Partner RED BEE Media, Major Government Partner Screen Australia and Supporting Partners Cochlear, IDEAS (Information on Disability and Education Awareness Services), JobAccess, the National Relay Service and Parramatta City Council.
The Festivalists is a non-profit arts event company that exists to promote independent and Australian arts and cinema, and to present work that enriches cultural diversity, and the range of accessible cultural experiences, for all audiences.