Relaxed Cinema Resources
Resources to help you run your own relaxed screenings
Beacon Films Relaxed Cinema Marketing and Communications Guide:
Relaxed Screenings are cinema or film screenings which include adjustments to help create a more accessible and inclusive experience for neurodivergent and disabled audiences who have specific access requirements.
The neurodivergent and disabled community is diverse and people can have a range of access requirements. There are also varying levels of public and audience awareness and acceptance of these access requirements at public events. This guide primarily focuses on autistic and/or learning disabled audiences which are screenings based on an “Autism-Friendly” concept.
This guide focuses on how to plan marketing and communications strategies to promote your events.
It is intended to support venues who are at all stages of their relaxed cinema journey.
The following information is sourced from Daydream Cinema’s resources page
Autism Friendly Cinema:
Inclusive Cinema’s How To Guides
Dementia Friendly Cinema:
Film content guidance
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
Learning Disabled audiences Relaxed Theatre advice
Oska Bright Film Festival: Welcoming Learning Disabled Audiences Back
Deaf and disabled Accessibility Guides
Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) have produced a guide supported by Film Hub Scotland, for film exhibitors of all sizes: SQIFF’s Deaf and Disabled Accessibility Guide
Relaxed Theatre advice
Touretteshero: Relaxed Performances FAQs
Relaxed Cinema Mentoring
Free Relaxed Cinema Mentoring Sessions for Film Hub North members.
Are you a Film Hub North member looking to enhance accessibility and confidently run and/or develop work on Relaxed Screenings for neurodivergent audiences?
We are offering free mentoring sessions to help you achieve these goals and develop venue-wide measures to welcome disabled and neurodivergent audiences to your cinema.
Through regular sessions, tailored to your schedule, capacity and needs, Beacon Films will provide guidance on:
1. An informal accessibility review: Assessing your cinema's current strengths and barriers and providing basic training on the social model of disability
2. Develop an action plan for the mentoring: Setting goals for the year. Establishing a low maintenance feedback process for audiences and staff.
3. Support the development of accessible marketing: Effectively promoting venue access and accessible screening formats holistically.
Finding a way to communicate any barriers that cannot be easily addressed. Installing simple low-maintenance opportunities for audience feedback.
4. Building in-venue access support: Developing a warm welcome for audiences including walkthrough videos, visual guides, staff training and familiarisation visits.
5. Building Relaxed Cinema Events. Developing events based on industry standards and toolkits. Building on community relationships to grow audience engagement.
6. Programming Relaxed Screenings. Choosing film titles and engaging neurodivergent and disabled film programmers in your work.
For more information or to arrange a chat about the mentoring, please contact Midnight Memphis: midnight@beaconfilms.org.uk. Let's work together to create an inclusive and welcoming cinema experience for all!