The lights dimmed inside the theater at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the audience quieted down. As Masayuki Suo¡¯s film ¡°Maiko wa Lady (Lady Maiko)¡± began, the viewers were ready ¡ª with glasses-shaped head-mounted displays and earpieces designed to make cinema accessible to the deaf and blind.
The special screening held at TIFF on Oct. 24 was a chance for the audience to experience the future of cinema in a barrier-free environment, so that everyone can enjoy going to the movies.
¡°There was originally little interest in the film industry to making movies barrier-free, so we decided to tackle this objective ourselves,¡± said Koji Kawano, secretary-general of nonprofit Media Access Support Center.
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