The 53rd International Film Festival of India to be held from 20th to 28th November 2022 in Goa will be Divyangjan friendly and accessible to all the film enthusiasts.
IFFI comes up with facilities to the differently abled cine-enthusiasts like screening audio description enabled, sub-titled movies , conducting technical workshops in movie making and acting, in the infrastructure front creating accessible ramps, tactile walkways, braille signboards etc.
Featuring a Divyangjan Special section this year an initiative by the MIB and IFFI is a step towards making cinema an inclusive and accessible avenue for everyone. In this section, dedicated screenings for specially-abled audience will be organized keeping in mind their accessibility needs in terms of formats of film screening and venue infrastructure, and management.
The films in this section will have embedded subtitles, as well as audio descriptions. The audio descriptions are specially created audio tracks that narrates the visual information in a film. The audience can listen to the same, and the content of the film is conveyed to the audience which is otherwise not accessible.
Further, films, like Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi and The Storyteller directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, which will be premiered at IFFI in the ‘Divyangjan’ section will be audio-visually equipped with embedded audio descriptions and subtitles. This will make them accessible to even differently-abled film aficionados and promote the spirit of inclusivity.
Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi
The Storyteller directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan
With an objective to ensure that the process of creating art becomes accessible to all, Film and Television Institute of India will be conducting two free courses for persons with disabilities – a basic course in smartphone film making for people with Autism and a basic course in screen acting for people in wheelchairs – as part of IFFI 53 from 21 – 28 November 2022.
Apart for the above mentioned the infrastructure of the venue also revamped for the special needs of the Divyangjan. The premises of ESG and other venues where the films are being screened have been made barrier-free with provisions of ramps, handrails, divyangjan- friendly walkways, parking spaces, retrofitted toilets, signboards in Braille etc.
