Görme Engelliler için Erişilebilir bir Etkinlik Alanı olarak Engelsiz Filmler Festivali

Abstract

Ankara Accessible Film Festival has been organized since 2013 to encourage the participation of individuals with disabilities in cultural and artistic activities. Until 2017 this festival has brought together the disabled and non-disabled cinema lovers living in Ankara, but after Puruli Culture & Arts had placed Istanbul and Eskişehir on its agenda in the same year it had the opportunity to reach more people with disabilities. The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which the Accessible Film Festival is accessible to the blind and the partially sighted target audience. For this purpose, the part of the festival organized in Ankara was chosen as a sample. This is due to the fact that the festival has been held in Ankara continuously since the beginning and that data collection is more suitable as the festival lasts longer in Ankara than in other cities. The research consists of three steps. Firstly, in what ways the festival has been announced to the target audience was investigated. Secondly, how the festival poster, the guide and the booklet which included the program have been introduced to the target audience was explored, and then, in the scope of the fieldwork, the audience was observed in terms of their participation rates and their interests. Thirdly, it was searched how the festival was reverberated in the press and a survey was given to the blind and the partially sighted target group to learn their opinions about the audio descriptions. According to the results obtained from these research steps, it was concluded that the festival was shared in the press, social media, and web sites and in the mail groups. It was observed that the festival poster, the guide and the booklet including the program were accessible to the blind and the partially sighted viewers. In the field study, it was found that the number of the blind and the partially sighted viewers was low. On the other hand, it was observed that non-disabled participants did not know that the blind and the partially sighted viewers could also watch movies. The festival was announced in the press as a “change maker”. In the survey, it was concluded that the films with audio descriptions in the festival fulfilled the expectations of the blind and the partially sighted viewers. According to the findings of the study, the festival is accessible enough for the blind and the partially sighted target group. This study is important because it is the first study which focuses on the blind and the partially sighted target audience, and reveals both the opinions of the blind and the partially sighted participants and the attitudes of the non-disabled audience towards audio description.

Ankara Accessible Film Festival has been organized since 2013 to encourage the participation of individuals with disabilities in cultural and artistic activities. Until 2017 this festival has brought together the disabled and non-disabled cinema lovers living in Ankara, but after Puruli Culture & Arts had placed Istanbul and Eskişehir on its agenda in the same year it had the opportunity to reach more people with disabilities. The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which the Accessible Film Festival is accessible to the blind and the partially sighted target audience. For this purpose, the part of the festival organized in Ankara was chosen as a sample. This is due to the fact that the festival has been held in Ankara continuously since the beginning and that data collection is more suitable as the festival lasts longer in Ankara than in other cities. The research consists of three steps. Firstly, in what ways the festival has been announced to the target audience was investigated. Secondly, how the festival poster, the guide and the booklet which included the program have been introduced to the target audience was explored, and then, in the scope of the fieldwork, the audience was observed in terms of their participation rates and their interests. Thirdly, it was searched how the festival was reverberated in the press and a survey was given to the blind and the partially sighted target group to learn their opinions about the audio descriptions. According to the results obtained from these research steps, it was concluded that the festival was shared in the press, social media, and web sites and in the mail groups. It was observed that the festival poster, the guide and the booklet including the program were accessible to the blind and the partially sighted viewers. In the field study, it was found that the number of the blind and the partially sighted viewers was low. On the other hand, it was observed that non-disabled participants did not know that the blind and the partially sighted viewers could also watch movies. The festival was announced in the press as a “change maker”. In the survey, it was concluded that the films with audio descriptions in the festival fulfilled the expectations of the blind and the partially sighted viewers. According to the findings of the study, the festival is accessible enough for the blind and the partially sighted target group. This study is important because it is the first study which focuses on the blind and the partially sighted target audience, and reveals both the opinions of the blind and the partially sighted participants and the attitudes of the non-disabled audience towards audio description.