October 15, 2021.
The information was prepared by RIGA IFF Communication Department.
The Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF), which will take place this year from October 14 to 24, especially invites people with disabilities to the experience of enjoying cinema this year. RIGA IFF stands for environmental safety and accessibility, film as a collectively adventurous event that is accessible to everyone. That is why in its 8th year of existence, the festival has taken important steps towards bringing the festival together.
Visiting cinemas for people with mobility and visual impairments, as well as other types of disabilities, is often difficult due to a number of factors, such as the lack of accessibility to screenings, clear instructions or suitable translation. RIGA IFF, in consultation with the representatives of the creative association COLORIZE, Normunds Pīlips and Lība Bērziņš, has provided several improvements to the main venue of the festival, k / t “Splendid Palace”. Accessibility for people with disabilities is also ensured at the venue of the second festival’s live sessions in Riga – at the National Library of Latvia. Lība Bērziņš and Normunds Pīlips have extensive experience in working with cultural institutions, as well as organizations in both the non-governmental and private sectors (the new theater festival “Homo Novus”, the Latvian Center for Contemporary Art, etc.). Both have consulted on issues of accessibility, accessibility and social inclusion, thus promoting the openness of cultural and artistic events to a wider range of people. The COLORIZE creative association operates on a European scale, advising, educating and initiating various projects for environmental accessibility solutions.
The visit to the cinema starts with the arrival at the venue – during the festival, two new parking lots for people with disabilities have been provided at the Splendid Palace shopping center (Elizabetes Street 61). Thanks to the Riga City Council, they will remain available for more convenient cinema attendance even after the end of the RIGA IFF! During the festival, the cinema premises have also been adapted – there is an additional ramp for access, thinking about people in wheelchairs; on the stairs there are signs of contrasting colors for people with visual impairments, as well as large-format signs that will help to orientate in the cinema premises. The visitors of the festival are taken care of by instructed RIGA IFF drug administrators – if necessary, they will, for example, wait at the entrances of the venues or help with information.
Each of RIGA IFF’s live screenings at the Splendid Palace cinema is reserved for a certain number of seats for visitors with disabilities, as well as for persons accompanying disabled persons of groups 1 and 2, who do not have to pay for the screening. You can also come to the screenings with a guide dog. Moving around the “Splendid Palace” Great Hall to the designated places is not hindered by steps. Also, seats are not numbered during festival screenings.
In several live screenings at the cinema “Splendid Palace”, a verbal translation of the film’s text into Latvian in audio headphones will be provided, which will improve the cinema experience for people with visual impairments. The number of films that can be watched online has also been expanded – now most of the RIGA IFF program is also available to those viewers who cannot measure their way to the festival venues.
If it is necessary to provide special access requirements, questions about purchasing tickets or any other inquiry, please write to RIGA IFF Customer Support Center to e-mail [email protected] or call the support phone number +371 25 17 2090.
The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Fund, the EU program “Creative Europe – MEDIA”, the National Cinema Center and the Riga City Council.
Additional information:
RIGA IFF Communication Department
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