Deaf teenager makes cinemas more accessible
Dean Rhodes Brandon has made it to the regional finals of the National Lottery Awards 2006 for making cinema-going accessible to thousands of hearing and visually impaired people. The teenager, who has been deaf since birth, launched Your Local Cinema with the UK Film Council when he was nine, in an effort to increase the number of cinemas showing subtitled and audio-described films.
Now 15, Dean still helps to run the project's supporting website, yourlocalcinema.com, which informs deaf clubs, schools and individuals of when these screenings are taking place in their area by email, typetalk, fax, text or post
Dean is one of four finalists in the south east of England to be nominated for the awards, which recognise successful lottery-funded initiatives.
The Carshalton-based project was nominated by a panel of high-profile judges, including entrepreneur Sir Terence Conran and Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.
A National Lottery spokesman explained why each finalist was chosen. She said: "For these awards we were basically looking for people who had used lottery money to do something really innovative and original. We wanted people who were proud of what they had done with the money they had received. Your Local Cinema is a great project."
Dean will find out if he has made it to the national finals in September.
His father Derek said: "Going to the cinema is an occasion that most people take for granted, but that many people like Dean struggle to enjoy. I was exceptionally proud when my son set this project up while at school, and it's great that so many cinemas have got involved to make cinema going more accessible to so many people."
He added: "I'm really proud of him, it's a great achievement."
Comments
It is really blessed to see someone that has the same hearing problem as me open doors to there future.I just want you to know i really enjoyed tha way you made tha cinemas more accessible.i really like to talk to people my age who are deaf.so you can feel free to talk to me or email me at jamanda2fine@yahoo.com. hope to hear from u soon.thank you!
Posted by: Jamanda | August 24, 2006 10:07 AM
Hi Jamanda,
If you'd like to get in touch with Dean, you can post a comment on his website:
www.yourlocalcinema.com/contact.html
or send an e-mail direct to:
subtitles@yourlocalcinema.com
I'm glad to hear that you found the DeafBlog article interesting and I hope that you will get a reply from Dean soon.
Posted by: Rose | September 6, 2006 06:07 PM