Anthony Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller All the Light We Cannot See made its on-screen debut November 2nd on Netflix. The four-part limited series follows the paths of a blind French girl and a German soldier as they collide during the final days of World War II. We celebrated the inclusive and authentic representation in the series, with screenings around the globe for the disability community. All of these advance screenings included Audio Descriptions and Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Louisville, US
These screenings kicked off on October 5 at the Kentucky Science Center with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) as part of their annual meeting, followed by a Q&A with associate producer and blindness consultant Joe Strechay.
On set, Strechay’s work ranged from ensuring the worldwide casting call was accessible to blind communities around the world to making sure scripts were correctly formatted for people with different levels of sightedness and reading techniques. Braille was used throughout production, both for the signage placed throughout the sets and for the names of actors and artists etched on the backs of their chairs – and Strechay worked closely with actresses Aria Mia Loberti and Nell Sutton, along with executive producer and director Shawn Levy, throughout filming.
Paris, France
In Paris, we held a screening at the Hotel Royal Monceau on October 17 in partnership with the French National Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities association CNCPH (which advocates for better representation of disabled, visually impaired and deaf people) and with guests from the Parisian medical center Anne Bergunion for people with multiple disabilities.
Ottawa, Canada
On October 24, we screened the first episode at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa for members of Parliament, Senators, dignitaries, staff, as well as members of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Netflix’s Director of Product Accessibility, Heather Dowdy, and Executive Director of the Disability Screen Office (DSO), Winnie Luk, which was moderated by Kate Riccomini, Program Lead, Advocacy & Accessible Community Engagement at CNIB.
San Francisco, US
At the Roxie Theater in San Francisco on October 25, we hosted an event with organizations including Guide Dogs for the Blind, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Vista Center, which opened with remarks from Anita Aaron, Executive Director of the California Agencies for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The screening was then followed by a Q&A with Strechay and Christine Benninger, President and CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind. (Loberti is an ambassador for Guide Dogs for the Blind and received her guide dog, Ingrid, from the organization.)
Berlin, Germany
The next stop was Berlin’s Delphi-Filmpalast am Zoo, Germany’s largest art house cinema, on October 26. We held a screening for the visually impaired and select guests with the help of the Association Deutscher Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband e.V. (DBSV).
Rome, Italy; Madrid, Spain; and London, England
On October 30, we hosted screenings for people with hearing and visual disabilities at the Maxxi Museum in Rome, in partnership with Rome Film Fest and with the support of Diversity Lab; as well as the Everyman Broadgate theater in London in partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People. After the screening, Fern Lulham, who recorded the English Audio Description for the series, was interviewed by Ron Hall (UK Love Island).
In Spain, we held an immersive screening at Madrid’s Luxury Palafox Cinema with Spanish blind organization LA ONCE, which was followed by a discussion with two actors with disabilities: Carlos Soroa, a deaf actor featured in the Netflix series Welcome to Eden, and Lola Robles, a blind actress who is part of the theater company La luciérnaga.
Washington, D.C.
Finally, on November 1, the night before the show’s premiere, we partnered with the Library of Congress and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled to host a screening in Washington, D.C. for members of the blind community as well as book fans. Attendees included the National Federation of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, and the American Foundation of the Blind, among others. The screening kicked off with opening remarks from Dr. Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress, and was followed by a discussion with Doerr, Strechay and Levy, which was moderated by Jason Broughton, Director of the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
“We were honored to host a conversation and advance screening of Netflix’s adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “This beautiful story of kindness, resilience and human connection centered around a blind teenage girl means a lot to us – we are the home of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.”
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