Experiencing films beyond the screen
Ever Shining Cinema has also brought barrier-free versions of films for people with vision loss to the Hainan Island International Film Festival, the China Changchun Film Festival and the Silk Road International Film Festival.
Since 2018, Fu and his team set a goal to make 104 films accessible to visually impaired audiences every year, so they could enjoy the equivalent of two movies a week.
Usually, it takes a month for a production team of eight to 10 people to finish a barrier-free version of a movie, according to Fu.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ever Shining Cinema team explored online channels to make films accessible to people with vision loss. In 2021, the project launched an app that brings the charm of movies to home screens, and the team also produced the first barrier-free version of a TV series, The Legendary Tavern, that year.
"From movies to TV series, from silver to small screens, the barrier-free version of The Legendary Tavern marked a step further in the development of Ever Shining Cinema," Fu says.
In 2021, 1921, a film celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, opened with simultaneous regular and barrier-free screenings by Ever Shining Cinema in Beijing.
"We'll continue to try new ways and paths to enable access to information to all, improve our professional production standards and explore precise promotion models to contribute to building an inclusive culture and environment," Fu says.