Showroom Cinema has launched dementia and autism friendly screenings in a bid to be more inclusive.
The cinema, on Paternoster Row, recently introduced dementia friendly screenings that take place on the last Tuesday of every month. Autism friendly film viewings are on a Saturday, where a new release will be shown, after their pre-existing family friendly screenings.
Isobel Harrop, the programming assistant at the cinema says that so far they have received positive feedback.
“I think for people who need that relaxed feedback, it’s nice to have that there and not feel self-conscious about having to ask a child to be quiet or stop running about. It gives people a level of comfort and security that you are not disturbing anyone else,” she said.
All the relaxed screenings have low level lights on throughout, lower volume of sound and allow people to get up and move about if needed and make noise.
There are also no trailers or adverts before the film starts and no allocated seats.
The cinema is a dementia friendly organisation recognised by The Alzheimer’s Society.
Ms Harrop said: “We want to be a place where people enjoy films without any barriers. We want to reduce the amount of obstacles there are for people with disabilities, neurodivergence, or any other reason that you might not be able to come to the cinema normally.
“The more solutions we can offer for that, the better.”
Their mission for increasing accessibility doesn’t stop there. They also offer subtitled films every Monday and audio description of films.
The cinema allows carers to attend the cinema without having to buy an additional ticket, if they have a CEA card.
Ms Harrop added: “If you require someone to come with you to the cinema, you shouldn’t have to pay twice as much as anyone else, if you wanted to come on your own but can’t. So we offer that across all programmes.”
The highly anticipated Dune: Part 2 will be the next relaxed viewing on Saturday.
Find a full list of the Showroom Cinema’s screenings here.