Charlie Swinbourne: It’s about time film festivals like Sundance are called out for lack of access (BSL)

It was reported over the weekend that a panel of judges at the Sundance Film Festival had walked out of a film due to the lack of captioning for deaf audience members, including Oscar-winning deaf actor Marlee Matlin.

Matlin was attending the premiere of the film Magazine Dreams on Friday night when a caption device failed to work. Along with her fellow jurors Jeremy O. Harris and Eliza Hittman, she walked out of the film. It was reported that the caption device was repaired hours later.

It was also reported that the jury had repeatedly expressed concerns to Sundance – and the filmmakers showing their films there – that films at at this year’s festival should come with open captions – which are always in view and cannot be turned off.

However Variety reported that several filmmakers had ‘declined the request to provide open captions onscreen, citing the costs and time associated with making another print. Sources say that some buyers even suggested that including captions onscreen could somehow hurt the film’s asking prices on the market as they try to land distribution.’

After walking out, Matlin, Harris and Hittman sent a signed letter to filmmakers at the festival imploring them to add open captions to their prints, saying that: ‘As a jury our ability to celebrate the work that all of you have put into making these films has been disrupted by the fact that they are not accessible to all three of us.’

Reading all of this, it’s sad to say that I wasn’t surprised. The cinema industry has long failed deaf customers, and film festivals have also been largely inaccessible to deaf audiences for years.

Five years ago, I attended the Edinburgh Film Festival, as I had been invited to speak on several panels there, regarding deaf filmmakers and access for disabled people in the industry.

Out of hundreds of screenings, there were only a handful of films there with subtitles – including one special screening of a range of disability films – but it was almost impossible to get clear information about where and when they were on. I ended up attending several foreign films, simply because I knew for sure that they’d have subtitles.

It was ironic to be put forward to talk about deaf and disabled filmmaking at the festival but to have very little access, and for that provision to be poorly communicated. I felt conflicted about being at the festival – I was part of showing some kind of inclusion, but without being included myself.

My experience didn’t encourage me to go back the next year, and I know of other deaf filmmakers who’ve had similar experiences and also rarely attend mainstream festivals.

But where does that leave deaf filmmakers? It leaves us unable to have the same festival experience as everyone else, and therefore means we not only miss out on seeing a variety of new work, but also miss out on networking with other filmmakers and producers, making the connections needed to further our careers.

It’s only two years since the film CODA made a huge impact at Sundance, going on to win the Oscar for Best Film. Matlin starred in the film, and perhaps a point to be made is, if you’re going to show deaf films at mainstream festivals, you need to also open up the rest of a festivals’ films to the deaf audience, not least because if you’re showing deaf films, the cast and crew of those films will be at the festival. And what are they expected to do? Wait in the bar while everyone else is in the auditorium?

It’s brilliant that a stand has actually been taken, and what’s also encouraging is that Matlin didn’t have to stand up for her access alone – she was joined by two non-deaf allies.

The incident has been embarrassing for the festival and for the makers of Magazine Dreams as well. In making a stand, a message has been sent out that films that don’t have full access may get called out for it, along with the festivals they are playing at.

Just as another point, should it have ever been down to the jury to ask Sundance and the filmmakers showing their films there to provide open captions? The festival should have made the provision of open captions a requirement for submitting a film. All festivals should.

This incident feels like another chapter in the battle for better access for deaf people to the screen industry as a whole, whether in front of or behind the camera in production of TV or film, at cinemas, or at festivals. The barriers are systemic, and run throughout the whole industry.

Let’s hope that the stand Matlin and her fellow jurors have taken leads to wider and concerted action to open up access in the cinema industry and for festivals in particular to give deaf audiences full access in the future.

Charlie Swinbourne is the editor of Limping Chicken, and is also an award-winning screenwriter.