Conference "Cinema and Accessibility" at the Rome International Film Festival – 19th October 2015
This event was co-organized by ITU, Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo and SUB-TI Access and held within the framework of the Regional Initiative for Europe on Ensuring access to telecommunications/ICTs, in particular for persons with disabilities, adopted by the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014.
Meeting was held on 19th October 2015, at Terme di Diocleziano in Rome, the official venue of MIA – Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, being a new market of films, documentaries and TV series which expands what was originally called Business Street at the MIA official venue Terme di Diocleziano in Rome.
In the world one of six people are affected by some form of visual or hearing impairment. More than 70 million people in Europe are deaf or hearing impaired. Despite the huge numbers involved, the issue of sensory disabilities is still not tackled consistently in all European countries, and the same applies to the film industry. This event was endeavor to explain:
- How a film can be made accessible,
- What rights the users have, in terms of international norms and regulations, and
- What impact audio-visual accessibility has on the market
This event targeted in particular the audience of the Rome International Film Festival, including the international film buyers, sales agents, film distributors and TV representatives. It provided an unique opportunity for advocacy for making programme production and distribution more accessible. Students from Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome as well as other European film schools were also expected to participate.
