The Cinema without Barriers Slovenia project has received the 3rd prize at the SozialMarie awards, one of Europe’s most prestigious awards for social innovation. Among 369 submitted projects from different European countries, the expert jury recognised it as one of the best examples of social innovation this year.
Through accessible film screenings featuring audio descriptions, descriptive subtitles, and interpretation into Slovenian Sign Language, the project opens film culture to a wider community and significantly contributes to a more inclusive cultural space. Cinema without Barriers Slovenia addresses not only the technical challenges of accessibility, but understands accessibility as a fundamental principle of participation in culture.
The goal of the project is to develop a model of accessible cinema that can also be adopted by other cinemas across Slovenia, gradually establishing a new national standard of accessibility in film culture.
In its statement, the SozialMarie jury wrote that the project “transforms film culture from an exclusive space into a structurally inclusive system” and that it addresses the long-standing barriers faced by sensory-impaired visitors in Slovenia not merely through technical additions, but by placing accessibility at the core of cultural participation. The jury also particularly emphasised that the project understands participation in culture as a basic human right and develops a transferable model that can be adopted by any cinema in the country.
Cinema without Barriers Slovenia is being developed through the collaboration of Cultural Centre Cerknica, Cinema Union Celje, and Cinema Linhartova hall Radovljica. The vision of the project is to create accessible cinema for everyone and establish a new standard of accessibility in Slovenian culture.
“This award is an important confirmation that accessibility is not an addition to culture, but its foundation. At the same time, it encourages us to continue developing and expanding the Cinema without Barriers Slovenia project across Slovenia,” the project partners emphasised upon receiving the award.
An important role in the development of the project was played by project leader Gregor Janežič from Cultural Centre Cerknica, programme manager Sara Šabec, Samo Seničar from Cinema Union Celje, and Katja Stušek from Linhart Hall Radovljica, whose work significantly shaped the project’s development.
Accessible screenings were also made possible through the contributions of Sara Horžen, who prepared the audio descriptions; Benjamin Jeram, who interpreted the audio descriptions; Miha Šajina, responsible for audio processing; Bojan Bajsič, who provided technical support; Diana Grden, who prepared descriptive subtitles; and the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Slovenia, which supported sign language interpretation. Slovenian Sign Language interpreters Tinkara Jerina, Marinka Dretnik, Kaja Novosel, Karin Brumen, and Sabina Pokovec also participated in the project implementation.
Members of the blind, visually impaired, deaf, and hard of hearing communities also play a key role in shaping more accessible and higher-quality content through their experiences, suggestions, and active involvement in the project.
The development and implementation of the project were additionally supported by Europa Cinemas and the Collaborate to Innovate programme.
Receiving the SozialMarie award represents important recognition of the work accomplished so far, while also serving as a commitment to continue expanding accessible film culture throughout Slovenia.
More about the project you can read on this link.
