For the first time, there is a large-scale report providing quantifiable data regarding the lack of accessibility at film festivals for disabled filmmakers and attendees. The Film Event Accessibility Scorecard is a virtual questionnaire form containing 70 questions that touch upon event attendance experience and recommendations. Between July 22, 2022 and November 20, 2023, 353 respondents provided feedback on 75 film festivals and film events internationally.
A big takeaway from the impact report: 73% of disabled respondents experienced some form of inaccessibility in the attendee experience and 93% of festivals received a below the median score. This included lack of accessible seating, volunteers being untrained on access features, the lack of functional assistive listening devices, and panels not being moderated accessibly. For example, 77% responded “somewhat disagree” or “disagree” to the question: “Live captions were available for the panels and Q&As (in-person).”
“By failing to include disabled filmmakers, the entertainment industry is depriving itself artistically and financially,” said Amanda Upson, Interim Executive Director, Filmmakers with Disabilities (FWD-Doc) and alumna of the 2021 RespectAbility Entertainment Lab. “Not only does this eliminate the point of view of [an estimated] 20% of the world’s population, but it also has quantifiable business ramifications. The Accessibility Scorecard offers a solution to bring skilled, fresh talent into an industry that desperately needs it, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to adopt a mindset and practices that can make this industry accessible.”
The scorecard did find that five festivals were rated double digits higher than the next highest festivals. Based on scoring in Website Accessibility, In-Person Venue Accessibility, In-Person Session and Film Accessibility, Virtual Accessibility and Overall Event Accessibility, the top scoring festivals in order are:
- Superfest Disability Film Festival (Superfest)
- BlackStar Film Festival (BlackStar)
- International Queer Women of Color Film Festival (QWOCMAP)
- Access:Horror Film Festival
- New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF)
“With Access:Horror, we had the unique opportunity to create an entirely new framework for talking about accessibility, baking in new processes and ways of dreaming about access from the very inception of the festival,” said Ariel Baska, a writer of the impact report who also is Managing Director of Access:Horror and an alum of the 2022 RespectAbility Entertainment Lab. “Because our focus is horror, and we are disability-led, we have a very important example to set in genre spaces for what can happen when everyone in the festival’s team is on the same page.”
The impact report notes that “all of the top five festivals have annual operating budgets under $3,000,000, indicating it does not necessarily require large budgets to prioritize accessibility.”
The impact report provides several recommendations for film festivals to be more accessible:
- Include Live Captions for Virtual and In-person Panels and Q&As
- Make a Separate Low-Sensory Space Available
- Incorporate Closed Captioning for Films, Panels, and Q&A’s that are Available, Functional, and High-Quality
- Provide American Sign Language (ASL) or Applicable Sign Language Interpreter
- Ensure Content Related to Accessibility is Easy to Find on the Website & Event Staff is Knowledgeable About the Access Advertised
The scorecard impact report is a collaborative initiative by Filmmakers with Disabilities (FWD-Doc), the Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW), and the Film Festival Alliance (FFA).
RespectAbility is available as a resource to help your film festival or event become more inclusive and accessible! Learn more on our Training and Consulting website. When you are ready to advance your disability inclusion journey, reach out to Jake Stimell at JakeS@RespectAbility.org.
