Loops, captions, action! Making the movies better for people with hearing loss

Long-time volunteers Ann Thallon and Margaret Canning both love a trip to the movies, and they’ve been in touch with a well-known Edinburgh cinema, the Filmhouse, discussing ways to enhance movie visits for people with hearing loss.

Rehan Yousuf, Filmhouse’s Community Engagement Manager, is keen to help.

The website already shows which films are captioned, and captioned screenings are increasingly frequent, with some now showing in the evenings.

A desk loop is to be installed for the ticket desk and bar, and funds are also available to replace or upgrade the loop systems for each screen.

Ann and Margaret have made various suggestions for further improvements such as enhanced publicity (e.g. mentioning captioned screenings on ‘coming soon’ posters), brighter lighting in the bistro area and clear facemasks for Filmhouse staff, to aid lipreading.

And there’s good news for Christmas, too! Filmhouse will be showing captioned screenings with audio description, of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life – with a BSL supported screening on Sunday 19 December.