The conference revealed the work involved in helping people with disabilities to work in the audiovisual sector and be represented on screen

An image from the conference (© Alberto Ortega/Academia de Cine)

On Tuesday 11 March, the headquarters of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Madrid hosted the first conference on access coordination, aimed at creating a space for reflection on this work that promotes the participation of people with disabilities, from creation and representation to the consumption of audiovisual products.

During the welcome address, the President, Fernando Méndez Leite, stated: “The Film Academy has taken an interest in this event because it emphasises accessibility, the right to access, and equal participation of all people in culture. We aim to promote access coordination in Spain and in the coming weeks, we will be running training courses in this area, reinforcing our commitment to people with disabilities.”

Jesús Martín Blanco, Director General for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda, then commented: “Culture is a right and influences democratic health. Society does not move at the same pace as disabled people, and there must be regulations that promote inclusion. There is a culture of ableism, which oppresses us, but it can also be part of the solution. This is the social challenge: for culture to be an advocate for inclusion, not perpetuate discrimination. We need culture to change this because, for example, there is still a lack of accessibility in many Spanish cinemas.”

In the first round table, entitled “What is access coordination?: Contextualisation and skills/responsibilities”, with contributions from Clare Baines, Disability Equality Lead at the BFI; Florencia Fasciolli, Audiovisual Accessibility Program Coordinator at the Catholic University of Uruguay; and Julie Fernández, access coordinator in the UK. In the second discussion, under the heading “Representation and participation of people with disabilities in the audiovisual sector,” the participants were Daniela Muñoz Barroso, Cuban documentary filmmaker and producer; Anna Marchessi, actress and screenwriter; Iker Azcoitia, screenwriter and actor; and Julie Fernández once again. The meeting concluded with the talk “Accessibility of audiovisual content for people with disabilities”, featuring Clare Baines; Florencia Fasciolli; Nefertiti Matos, narrator, bilingual audio description professional and accessibility advisor; and Laura Feyto, Head of the Accessibility Unit at RTVE.

Among the many ideas put forward, it should be noted that 20% of the world's population lives with some form of disability; therefore, it represents an untapped market. This is where the role of the access coordinator becomes fundamentally important, helping people with disabilities to participate in the entire creative process of an audiovisual work and ensuring that their needs are considered at each stage of production. This allows the works to be adapted to this audience, enabling them to see themselves represented on screen as just another character, without discrimination.

This role also helps to address issues faced by people with disabilities who are part of the film production teams and promotes their inclusion in culture, not only as consumers but also as creators. As Anna Marchessi said, “disability is often seen as something alien, when it concerns us all, because with age we all acquire disabilities. Part of the problem is that we see ourselves as different, when we are all the same. That is why I want to naturalise disability, because it is an intrinsic part of all human beings.”

(Translated from Spanish)