I am passionate about making cinema accessible and inclusive for both audiences and filmmakers with disabilities. Significant efforts in which I am involved include All Senses Go, Access Reframed, and DePaul University’s Accessible Cinema program.
All Senses Go – I started a business whose mission is to create barrier-free media that engages a wider audience in the rich cultural content that is being shared every day.
The name All Senses Go is a nod to the idiom “all systems go” which indicates that everything is ready, so now the task at hand can proceed. We believe that no film or piece of media is ready to share without taking the necessary steps to ensure that all audiences can perceive the story being told. This means putting energy, care and creativity into the design of equitable experiences for people with disabilities.
All Senses Go is committed to ensuring that disabled, blind, d/Deaf, and Neurodiverse audiences and filmmakers are considered, prioritized, and seen as integral to audio-visual culture. We strive to develop and test pathways to access, using any and all tools available including subtitles and captions, image descriptions, sign language interpretation, universal design, web accessibility, plain language, clear way-finding, and sensory friendly considerations.
Access Reframed – I am involved in an initiative of Full Spectrum Features called Access Reframed. This project aims to educate, advocate and enact change towards greater access for creators and audiences in the film community nationwide. We approach this challenge from a place of collaboration, reframing accessibility as a societal value that’s good for business.
Accessible Cinema @ DePaul University
Accessible Cinema – I developed a new course for DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts that introduces Film & Post Production students to the accessibility features in digital cinema. My goal for the course is to expose filmmakers-in-training to localization and audio-visual translation, and to convey that subtitles, captions and descriptions are fun, creative storytelling opportunities in an increasingly global and inclusive market.