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An open caption movie will be screened in Tauranga this month specifically for the Bay of Plenty’s hard of hearing and deaf community.

Hearing Support Bay of Plenty, Sonic Cinema, The Incubator Creative Hub and Tauranga City Council have collaborated to screen The Lady in the Van on Sunday, August 30, from 1pm at the Historic Village’s Community Cinema.

The screening will have assistive captioned text throughout the duration of the film, providing an inclusive viewing experience for those with hearing loss.

Hearing Support BOP Tauranga manager Helen Rodgers said enjoying a full movie experience in a cinema can be difficult for those with hearing loss.

“While sound in general is heard, speech clarity is often difficult to pick up and so a lot of the plot can often be missed.”

Rodgers said she hadn’t been to a cinema much herself in 20 years due to hearing difficulties and needing the assistance of captions.

“To see a movie, actually out at the movies – rather than just sitting at home watching Netflix with subtitles – will be great.”

Some Bay of Plenty cinemas offer individualised transcribing ‘machines’ for people with hearing loss, but this doesn’t include captions on the actual cinema screen during a movie, Rodgers said.

Sonic Cinema has been facilitating inclusive low-sensory cinema screenings for hard-of-hearing, deaf, neurodiverse and disabled members of the community at the Community Cinema since 2017.

This screening will be the third open-captioned film collaboration with Hearing Support BOP since 2024.

Rodgers encouraged the hearing and deaf community to enjoy August 30’s screening of The Lady in the Van starring Maggie Smith, which tells the true story of British playwright Alan Bennett and his unexpected, 15-year relationship with an eccentric, homeless woman named Miss Mary Shepherd who parked her van in his London driveway. Bookings are essential – visit: www.theincubator.co.nz or email: [email protected]