Every Saturday, Zhang Xinsheng commutes two hours for a movie date with friends, navigating Beijing’s confusing subway with his white cane and a spoken map shouting instructions on his cell phone.
Zhang lost his sight when he was in his early twenties due to a degenerative disease, but since becoming blind, he discovered his love for cinema at the “spoken cinema” club, where volunteers give live stories to an audience of blind or visually impaired viewers. .
“I felt like I could perceive the film despite my blindness. Transparent photographs were forming in my mind. . . while (the narrator) described the scenes. . . of laughter, of crying. “
Dozens of blind spectators attend Saturday’s screenings organized through the Xin Mu Theater, a small organization of volunteers who were the first to offer films to a blind audience in China.
They transmit visual cues that would be lost in a different way, such as a sudden replacement of a landscape from leaffall to snow that reflects the passage of time.
Narrator Wang Weili described what happens on the screen:
“A guy with binoculars, two long circular cylinders that used to see things that are far away, sees James singing in a corner with Bob the cat. “
– ‘Tell Me You See’ –
“I saw sweat dripping from his forehead when I described the action scenes. I was so excited,” he said. He kept saying, tell me what you see!
Its 20-square-meter (215-square-foot) makeshift cinema was packed.
Before projecting “Jurassic Park”, for example, Wang will feel several dinosaur models.
Xin Mu is now partnering with larger cinemas for its screenings. The pandemic has led the team to introduce a streaming service with recorded audio narrations.
– ‘Limited Opportunities’ –
Over the past decade, cities across the country have built more walkways for the blind, added Braille markings on elevator panels, and allowed blind applicants to take exams for government and college jobs.
“They are excluded from cinemas, theatres or art exhibitions because there is no awareness of the need for audio narratives. “
For years, activists have pushed for a law making audio descriptions mandatory for movies, tv screens or artwork in mainland China, such as those in Hong Kong, with little progress.
“Movies enrich my life. . . they allow me to perceive life’s challenges,” Zhang said.
“Sometimes I think, like the protagonists of this movie, that I can replace my destiny by running hard,” he said.
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