SM MALLS in Davao City recently held special movie screenings for almost 200 persons with visual and hearing impairments and other disabilities.
The said special screenings were initiated by SM Cares committee on disability affairs, which aimed to give the hearing and visually impaired and other PWD audiences greater accessibility to enjoy movies just like any other movie-going public.
The blockbuster film Les Miserables was screened at SM City Davao Cinema 2 and at SM Lanang Premier Cinema 6. It was shown with audio descriptions and subtitles for the benefit of PWD viewers.
The audio description is a special narration of key visual elements of a film that the visually-impaired viewers would ordinarily miss. The descriptions are inserted into pauses between screen dialogues to add context to the story. On the other hand, close captioning or subtitles transcribe the audio portion of the film so that the hearing-impaired will be able to read the printed words on screen.
Along with SM Lanang Premier and SM City Davao, other blockbuster movies – Hugo, Life of Pi and Taken 2 – were shown with audio descriptions and subtitles for the PWDs in selected SM malls across the country.
With the support of the City Social Services and Development Office, leaders and members of the Davao City Association of Differently-Abled Persons Multipurpose Cooperative (ADAP-MPC), Davao Region Association of the Deaf (DRAD), Inc., Bigay Buhay Multipurpose Cooperative Project SELP (Support the Employment and Livelihood of People with Disability), Davao Resources for the Blind Inc., Davao School for the Blind, United Blind Masseurs Association Cooperative, Mindanao Blind Union, Davao Deaf Association, and Mindanao Association of Muslim with Disabilities, Inc. (Mamdi) and students of Deped-Sped were able to avail of this rare free offering.
"This is the first time that this kind of service has been offered to us. I thank the organizers for coming up with this activity," Luoilen Kuan of the Resources for the Blind says.
The special movie screening was made possible through SM’s partnership with Deaf Blind Support Philippines Center for Advocacy, Call Foundation of the Blind, MTRCB, Learning and Livelihood Foundation for the Blind, AKAP Pinoy, the Philippine Blind Union, NCDA, and the Philippine Foundation for Rehabilitation of the Disabled.