Accessibility Scorecard: A Tool to Address Inaccessibility at Film Festivals and Film Events
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA (July 22, 2022)
FWD-DOC, FILM EVENT ACCESSIBILITY WORKING GROUP, FILM FESTIVAL ALLIANCE, AND 1IN4 COALITION LAUNCH ACCESSIBILITY SCORECARD PROVIDING A TOOL FOR FILMMAKERS, AUDIENCES, AND FESTIVALS TO ADDRESS INACCESSIBILITY AT FILM FESTIVALS AND FILM EVENTS
The first annual “Film Event Accessibility Scorecard 2023” will be released on July 22nd, 2022 as a tool enabling filmmakers, professionals, attendees, and festivals to work together towards establishing more accessible festivals and entertainment industry events. The release announcement will take place via zoom meeting on July 22nd, 2022 at 1pm EDT-2pm EDT which can be accessed through the following eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-event-accessibility-scorecard-rollout-tickets-354304051957
In order to draw visibility to the inaccessibility of festivals and entertainment industry events, FWD-Doc has partnered with Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW), led by Cassidy Dimon, to jumpstart the collective reporting of data related to accessibility successes and failures. Scorecard questionnaire developer Cassidy Dimon explains, “the burden of explaining inaccessibility is on the filmmaker or attendee. The objective of the Scorecard is to make it as easy as possible for people to provide concise feedback without requiring them to invest even more of their time and labor on improving a festival or event.” Adds co-founder of 1IN4 Coalition Eryn Brown, “Professionals attending festivals should be able to focus on their art or their job, and not have to fight just to get fair access to a room or a stage.”
Festivals, filmmakers, professionals, and event attendees can access the Scorecard at https://www.fwd-doc.org/film-event-accessibility-scorecard-2023 as an online questionnaire template, where users can provide responses about their experiences with festivals and film events. The Scorecard will then provide documented feedback from attendees (filmmakers, professionals, and audience) on the current state of accessibility so that film events can identify strategies to make their events more inclusive. In addition to feedback on viewing experiences, the Scorecard will seek feedback from event attendees on several areas of accessibility, including red carpet, stage, networking, and related events.
Despite some improvements in recent years, rampant inaccessibility continues to prevent disabled attendees from participating fully in career-essential festivals and film industry events. This is a detriment to professional advancement, the entertainment industry, and authentic representation. Enabling all audiences to experience the festival programs is vital to the discovery and nurturing of new artistic voices and the authentic representation of disabled people. This inclusion not only changes culture, but is also great for business. Industry-wide inaccessibility carries massive financial implications, excluding a nearly $8 trillion market of audiences with disabilities according to a 2018 estimate from Accenture.
“The entertainment industry clamors for fresh talent with interesting perspectives and knows authentic representation results in record sales, and yet the industry’s institutionalized barriers prohibit talent with exactly those skills from reaching the industry and audiences,” explained FWD-Doc Interim Director Amanda Upson.
Being shut out of prominent festivals bars disabled filmmakers from key opportunities for career advancement. As the experiences of veteran international film festival attendees such as filmmaker Victor Pineda and manager Brown illustrate, the festivals are an indisputable example of the entertainment industry’s institutionalized practice of excluding disabled people. “By failing to include disabled filmmakers, the entertainment industry is depriving itself artistically and financially. Not only does this eliminate the point of view of 20% of the world’s population, but it also has quantifiable business ramifications,” said Upson. “The Accessibility Scorecard offers a solution to bring skilled fresh talent into an industry that desperately needs it, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to adopt a mindset and practices that can make this industry accessible.”
Oscar-nominated co-director Jim LeBrecht comments, “We are heartened by the festivals that have improved accessibility, and we want to encourage all festivals to commit to ensuring their festivals are accessible. A high accessibility score on the Scorecard is achievable. The concept our Scorecard promotes is quite simple, but it comes down to prioritization. Everyone should have the ability to experience these festivals, regardless of disability. The key here is to provide true equal accessibility for audiences, filmmakers, professionals, and journalists through intention, education, and the allocation of resources to make this a reality.”
FWD-Doc, Film Event Accessibility Working Group, Film Festival Alliance, and 1IN4 Coalition would like to recognize and to thank those disabled filmmakers who’ve invested countless hours of unpaid, unrecognized work in providing accessibility feedback and education to festivals and industry events for decades. We hope this Scorecard will serve to standardize efforts to move towards an accessible industry that recognizes and celebrates the contributions of all filmmakers.
The Film Event Accessibility Scorecard 2023 was developed by FWD-Doc in partnership with Film Event Accessibility Working Group with the support of Film Festival Alliance, and in association with 1IN4 Coalition.
MEDIA CONTACT: Amanda Upson (hello@fwd-doc.org)
ABOUT 1IN4 COALITION: 1IN4 Coalition (https://www.1in4coalition.org/) is an intersectional coalition of disabled creatives currently working in Hollywood focused on long-term institutional shifts to increase employment and authentic representation of disabled people. Now is the time – to employ disabled people, to tell authentic stories, and to ignite change for the 1.3 billion disabled people around the world.
1IN4 Coalition leadership includes: co-founders Eryn Brown, Sara Fischer, Elaine Hall, David Kurs, Andraéa LaVant, Jim LeBrecht, Stephen Letnes, Ryan O’Connell, Natasha Ofili, and Kaitlyn Yang.
ABOUT FILM EVENT ACCESSIBILITY WORKING GROUP (FEAW): Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW) is a collective of film event operations professionals who seek to increase accessibility within film event spaces. FEAW seeks to achieve an inclusive film community through peer support and resource sharing. FEAW was formed by Cassidy Dimon in 2021 and members include the Center for Asian American Media, Sundance Institute, SFFILM, Full Spectrum Features, ReelAbilitiesNY, New Orleans Film Society, Black Public Media, Vision Maker Media, and DOCNYC.
ABOUT FILM FESTIVAL ALLIANCE: Film Festival Alliance (https://filmfestivalalliance.org/) is a not-for-profit, member-based organization serving film festivals and the people who run them.
Film Festival Alliance fosters a collaborative global community for mission-driven film festivals, advocates for a sustainable and inclusive environment within the cinema exhibition ecosystem, and creates a powerful collective voice for our industry.
ABOUT FWD-DOC: FWD-Doc (Filmmakers with Disabilities, www.fwd-doc.org) is a group of filmmakers with disabilities (FWDs) — and our active allies.
FWD-Doc seeks to increase the visibility of, support for, and direct access to opportunities, networks, and employment for D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse filmmakers. We aim to foster greater inclusion of D/deafness, disability, and neurodiversity within the broader entertainment industry.
FWD-Doc leadership includes: co-founders, Day Al-Mohamed (on leave), Lindsey Dryden, Jim LeBrecht, and Alysa Nahmias; advising member, Kyla Harris; and interim director, Amanda Upson.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information, go to https://www.fwd-doc.org/, https://filmfestivalalliance.org, https://www.1in4coalition.org/. To download FWD-Doc’s Toolkit for Inclusion and Accessibility: https://www.fwd-doc.org/toolkit. To download FWD-Doc’s Engagement Pack with resources aimed at filmmakers, commissioners, funders, buyers, decision-makers, business affairs, and exhibitors, and includes templates for use across the industry: https://www.fwd-doc.org/engagement-pack.
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