Image: Touch Screen 2023, Will Pace.
Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) is bringing back its pioneering accessible screenings for families this January.
Now located in MAC’s spacious main theatre, Touch Screen invites families to touch, smell and feel their way through a collection of short films. This is part of a unique programme of “relaxed” events, which are part screening and part performance. Relaxed events at MAC are designed to improve the experience for people with autistic spectrum conditions, sensory, motor and communication disorders, learning disabilities and anyone who would benefit from a more adapted environment.
Artist Sarah Hamilton Baker leads an amazing sensory journey that immerses audiences in light, sounds and movement. Families can expect some of the following elements at Touch Screen events:
- Chances to interact with nature, such as leaves, acorns and plants
- Musical elements, including live music
- Light and colour, including fireworks
- Seasonal events, like Easter and Halloween screenings
These accessible screenings are designed with disabled children and their families in mind, but all children of any age and their families are very welcome. They provide:
- A moment of pause and relaxation for parents and carers
- An enjoyable sensory experience for children under the friendly and sensitive guidance of experienced professionals
Sarah Hamilton Baker, Touch Screen facilitator, said: “We are kicking off the new year’s Touch Screen season with a playful paper programme! Expect to tear, scrunch, rip and float your way through a selection of short films all featuring paper creations. This year, we are moving Touch Screen from the cinema into the main theatre space so we can have double the number of projectors and plenty of room for wheelchairs.”
Dates for schools (two screenings per day)
- Thursday 23 January, 10.00am and 11.30am
- Friday 24 January, 10.00am and 11.30am
For more information and to book spaces for a school group, please contact info@macbirmingham.co.uk or call 0121 446 3232.
Dates for the general public (two screenings)
- Saturday 25 January, 10.00am and 11.30am
Each showing is suitable for a maximum of 20 people and lasts approximately 50 minutes. Future Touch Screen dates will be confirmed on our website throughout the year - watch this space!
What to expect at MAC
Parents and schools can get a sense of the environment at MAC and what to expect upon arrival from our virtual building tour. Find out more here. We also have a range of accessible facilities, including our on-site Changing Places toilet, which has a changing bench, hoist and larger space for people with access requirements and assistants. Find out more here.
Relaxed events at MAC
Relaxed events at MAC are designed to improve the experience for people with autistic spectrum conditions, sensory, motor and communication disorders, learning disabilities and anyone who would benefit from a more adapted environment.
- The main lights remain on and the volume is reduced
- You can feel comfortable to remain inside should you need to make noises or move involuntarily
- Sometimes, a pre-show introduction to the venue and performers is included, signalling anything that may be big, loud, or unexpected
- If you need a break, MAC staff will direct you to a quiet area where you can relax
Expanding the Frame
Opening doors and breaking down barriers for disabled audiences
Expanding the Frame is MAC's three-year project supported by Film Hub Midlands. Since 2023, it has focussed on significantly improving access to cinema for disabled audiences in the West Midlands.
Through the project, MAC has been piloting new programmes and events to ensure that disabled people can experience film in an accessible environment, as well as seeing themselves reflected on screen.
David Baldwin, MAC’s Cinema Producer, said: “Expanding the Frame isn’t about ticking boxes or paying lip service without actually changing anything. It’s about fundamentally altering the essence of our cinema programme, and whilst we’ve still got plenty of work to do, we’re very proud that our programme is so much more accessible than when we first launched the project in 2023.”
Improving access to cinema
Alongside Touch Screen, MAC is also improving access across its wider cinema programme with increased use of descriptive subtitles and audio description, and greater representation of disabled stories and voices.
After spearheading the introduction of accessible screenings in 2023, accessible events in different formats have become a regular part of MAC’s cinema programme. Instead of separating audiences based on access requirements, MAC unites them by truly ‘expanding the frame’ of what cinema can be.
What to look forward to in 2025:
- The arrival of a new world class audio description system, bringing state of the art technology to the MAC so that audiences with visual impairment can enjoy all the latest film releases.
- More Colour Box family screenings in 2025. A programme of relaxed and subtitled events, Colour Box takes place on every first Saturday of the month, along with creative and hands-on workshops. Across 2024, over 1,000 people attended Colour Box events, and we hope to welcome many more to MAC this year.
- An increase in the number of accessible screenings in our upcoming programme. Examples include screenings with audio description and with descriptive subtitles, and relaxed events for a range of features, including our extremely popular NT Live screenings and BFI London Film Festival events.
Spring season: expanding the classics
Expanding the Frame in 2025 will include more screenings selected by guest programmer Conor O’Donovan, who will be spotlighting accessible versions of classic films. Key titles from the cinematic canon will be shown with audio description and descriptive subtitles, including influential films like Apocalypse Now, A Matter Of Life & Death and Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (the latter recently voted the greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound).
Conor O’Donovan, Guest Programmer for Expanding the Frame, said: “I’m excited to show the power of cinema to MAC moviegoers this year, regardless of when a film was made or where it comes from. This year, we’re showing classic films from around the world that deserve revisiting after a long time away from the box office, and that all serious filmmakers should study. From the ‘golden ages’ of cinema in Hollywood and Japan, to directors like Federico Fellini and 1920s German expressionism, I hope people take a chance on these films. They just might inspire someone watching to make a difference, however small.”
Elaine Lillian Joseph, Associate Programmer, said: “Expanding the Frame isn’t a one-off season. We want blind or partially sighted people and people with visual impairments to leave the cinema with the same buzz as sighted viewers. Audio description is an art and a necessity, and we are committed to raising its profile at MAC.”
Expanding the Frame is made possible by the generosity of Film Hub Midlands. This project is also kindly supported by Mr Geoff Poole, in loving memory of Mrs Carol Poole. With thanks to the Film Audience Network (FAN), the British Film Institute (BFI) and players of the UK National Lottery.