Frank Capra’s 1946 film, It’s a Wonderful Life, that has become a classic of Christmas viewing, has the 75th anniversary of its release marked with the creation of a brand-new accessible 4K DCP version. This innovative and inclusive move from Filmhouse Cinemas and Park Circus will enable hearing and visually impaired audiences across the UK to experience the film this Christmas season thanks to captions for the deaf and hard of hearing and audio description for the blind and visually impaired.
The money to create the fully accessible DCP was awarded to Filmhouse by the Garfield Weston Foundation, who support organisations that ‘delight and inspire audiences across the UK and support the nation’s cultural life’.
Head of Programming at Filmhouse, Rod White said “We were so delighted to be awarded these funds by the Garfield Weston Foundation to increase accessibility and inclusivity on our cinemas offerings, and we thought what better use of the money than to create these access files for a film that remains so incredibly popular and important for audiences year after year – a perfect legacy for the funds.”
It’s a Wonderful Life will be included in a special Christmas package from Park Circus that aims to support cinemas nationwide in encouraging audiences back to the big screen to enjoy their favourite festive classics at the cinema.
CEO of Park Circus Mark Hirzberger-Taylor said “We are honoured to represent thousands of films on behalf of our studio partners and are always striving to find ways to bring them to as many audiences as possible. So when our friends at Filmhouse came to us with this idea of making this festive favourite more accessible, we were delighted to work with them to make this new version – what better way to mark this very special film’s 75th anniversary.”
The accessible version of It’s a Wonderful Lifewill start screening at Edinburgh Filmhouse and Belmont Filmhouse throughout December, with tickets available from www.filmhousecinema.com and www.belmontfilmhouse.com. The film is now available to cinemas nationwide and internationally to book for the Christmas season. All cinemas will be provided with a package of marketing assets, including a beautifully updated trailer and poster.
The accessible copy of the film will be then made available to cinemas around the world.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 