Breaking barriers one film at a time

Fri, 3 November 2017

The NSW-based AAAFF will roll-out an exciting new program across six states and territories over the summer of 2017/18.

The AAAFF Main Program will showcase seven exceptional films from Australia, Iran, Finland, Holland and Italy and includes two animations, two documentaries and three live action films. The films will take their audiences on a glorious journey of suspense and intrigue, romance, hilarious comedy, heart-warming moments and new perspectives.

This international program of award-winning short films will screen in a range of community venues with a suite of accessible features including audio description, open captions and a kit for sensory screening with a social story. The program is flashing light free and all venues are accessible for people with mobility disability.

“We are very mindful that we are serving an audience that has often been excluded from the experience of cinema and not only as audience, but also as filmmakers. This year’s Festival won’t compensate for that loss but it will certainly place people with disability firmly in the centre of a lot of screens, across a large part of this continent and do so in environments that are increasingly accessible. We’ve searched the globe for the most entertaining and authentic short films for a program that will take the audience on a spellbinding journey,” said AAAFF Festival Director, Jacqueline Cosgrove.

AAAFF was launched as a NSW-based festival in 2007 by The Festivalists who grew AAAFF for 8 years before handing the management of it to The Bardic Studio in 2016. The Festival audience peaked last year at 9815 people across 61 local communities. Most screenings were held in NSW with a small number in Victoria. The expected audience for 2017 is in excess of 35,000 across six states and territories.

The Bardic Studio’s priorities for AAAFF include sharing the lived experience of people with disability with increasingly large audiences across Australia, showcasing the capacity of people with disability, continually increasing the suite of accessible features offered and maintaining ongoing conversations with commercial producers, distributors and exhibitors about increasing access to cinema for all Australians.

The Bardic Studio is also pleased to announce that in addition to the Main Short Film Program and Schools Program, a Children’s Program and Corporate Program will be offered for the first time in 2017.

The Children’s Program has been embraced by many community organisations as a way to offer families with children with disability a relevant, accessible experience the whole family can enjoy together. The Corporate Program will screen during lunchbreaks for people in large organisations, breaking down barriers and increasing opportunities for people with disability in the workforce.

AAAFF 2017 screens in two stages:

• Stage 1 runs from November 2017 to January 2018 in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory

• Stage 2 runs from February 2018 to April 2018 in Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.

A complete list of venues, screening dates, programs and the accessible features offered at each public screening is available on the Bardic Studio website bardicstudio.com.au