A new initiative will allow deaf audiences in the UK to see subtitled films before their general release Achi-News

LONDON (AP) – For once, deaf audiences are being prioritized in UK cinemas.

Paramount Pictures UK will screen their films with captions the day before their general release, meaning deaf and hard of hearing cinemagoers across the country will be able to watch them first.

The distributor begins with the robot animation “Transformers One” on October 10. Subtitled screenings of Paramount’s upcoming films, “Gladiator II,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and “The Smurfs Movie,” will follow. over the next few months.

Rebecca Mansell, chief executive of the British Association of Deaf People, said the initiative was groundbreaking. Deaf, hard-of-hearing audiences have struggled to attend the few subtitled films available because they are often scheduled at inconvenient times, he said.

“It fits the needs of the cinema, but not necessarily when the Deaf community wants to go,” he said. “The deaf community always feels like they’re the last to know, the last to watch something, the last for everything. And now we are going to be the first. It’s certainly a very exciting moment.”

Around 18 million people in the UK are registered deaf, deaf or hard of hearing, according to the association.

Paramount has also been conducting deaf awareness training with cinema managers and staff in UK cities so they can better communicate with customers.

Yvonne Cobb, a famous TV presenter and ambassador for the British Association of Deaf People, ran the training in a large cinema in Leicester Square in central London on Wednesday.

He said the three-hour training session was not enough for staff to become fluent in British Sign Language, but employees were able to learn basic signs, how to interact with deaf customers and what not to do — for example shout or cover your mouth someone . They were also taught how to spell with their fingers to indicate the name of the film.

“We taught the staff how to tell the number from which screen it’s in, and also some greeting signs too — for example ‘how are you?’,” said Cobb, who is a qualified British Sign Language teacher.

Paul Johnston-Naylor, general manager at Feltham Cineworld, completed the training on Wednesday and said learning the British Sign Language alphabet was very useful.

“We can try to finger spell some of the names of the films and then some of the common phrases that we would probably use in the cinema industry, to help the customer navigate their way through the cinema, buy their popcorn, go sit in. screen and find their seats,” he said.

Cobb even invented a new sign for “Transformers One” inspired by robot characters like Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Mansell also notes that subtitles are becoming increasingly popular with younger generations.

“60% of young people prefer to watch things with subtitles,” he said. “I think before, people see them as something that gets in the way or spoils the image. And now they are much more accepted and much more normalized. “

Canadian Press. All rights reserved.