In partnership with Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services and Kalamazoo Deaf Night Out, officials from Celebration Cinema announced Tuesday it will now offer weekly, open-caption movies at all of their locations on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.
According to a press release, the local movie theater chain is aiming to provide a “more enjoyable and accessible viewing experience for all”–and the family-owned business believes that open-captions will help cater to the deaf, as well as English Language Learners.
While the will continue to provide closed-caption devices upon request, open-caption movies include the full discourse right on the big screen for the whole audience to see.
Erica Chapin, is the community and partnership manager for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services. She says, Celebration Cinema officials were the ones who came up with the idea, and her organization couldn’t have been more pleased.
“Celebration Cinema offering open captioning was such a great opportunity for them to provide greater accessibility to the deaf blind and hard of hearing communities,” she said. “These communities have been missing out on so much of the movie going experience.”
And she says, for some, a return to the cinema altogether.
“We’ve had people share that they have come to the theater for the first time in 30 years,” she said. “And they get to create those memories with their families.”
Open-caption shows will be outlined both on Celebration Cinema’s website, and at the ticket desk.
