Alex Casey talks to access coordinator Felicity Hamil about one of the newest jobs in the screen industry and why it has been a long time since it has arrived.
From the first moments of vision, it is clear that it is not your series of average documentaries. “In a skiing field, a person wearing a vest with vision deficiency goes into weird and begins to slide with a snowy inclination,” reads the voice of audio description, as we see the unstable host Ari Kersens begins his descent. “… before you swing and eat shit on the floor.”
Produced by the capable accessibility organization, the invisible view is innovative for several reasons. Exploring the experience of Blind and Low Vision Rangatahi throughout ATEAROA, is one of the first documentaries in the world to incorporate default (and sometimes sworn) audio descriptions and one of the country’s first productions to use an access coordinator.
One of the latest roles to emerge in the global screen industry in recent years, there are only three access coordinators in Aotearoa. Trained by the British company Bridge06, they work with screen productions to ensure that deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talents (DDN) have their access requirements met to do their work to the best way possible.
Invisible access coordinator Felicity Hamil has been working in the screen industry for over two decades in all papers, from the extra person to stuntmen, the creature work and the scout. As part of the DDN community, it has begun to notice a distinct lack of representation and conversations about those who may have access requirements in various productions.
“It’s just something that has never been on the radar, and I started thinking more and more – where is everyone?” She tells the spinoff. “If one in four of our population is part of this community, it seems quite strange that we are not being represented there. And when you start looking, you really can’t stop realizing the lack of it. ”
Having sautéed this absence for many years, Hamil took the opportunity to train with the Bridge 06 accessibility organization in Sydney in late 2023. Comed by two other New Zealandes, Chelsea Bridges and Jared Flitcroft, along with Nove Australians, she says was extremely extremely Animator to listen to people’s lived experiences of navigating the film industry.
“I think there is a sense, for many in our industry, that if you disclose, you are living with something chronic, or that is not easily identifiable, that you can be seen as a responsibility,” she says. “It was so good to learn from others and see that this is not the case – it is usually just a matter of facilitating minor adjustments that allow everyone to continue their work.”
Sight Unemeen was her first access coordinator, and she worked with production to talk to the entire cast and the team about any access requirements they needed. For example, given that the series had extensive talent that was blind or low vision, it may mean ensuring that everyone received their documents in the preferred format for the screen reader.
“It’s just that simple things like that, even before you reach the filming stage, which really facilitates things to help people,” says Hamil. “We are basically learning from the cast and crew and discovering what we really need to move on to the production we will help. In turn, it is really teaching productions to analyze your processes and become more accessible in general. ”
Because, while a project like Sight Invision may have more obvious access requirements, Hamil believes all productions can benefit from considering some of these problems. “I think we can all learn a lot from the DDN community, working smarter, no harder, and just making it a more pleasant experience,” she says. “Everything is good to be good for everyone.”
For example, she says all productions would be better to have a quiet space on the set. “Who doesn’t need a time limit on a very busy filming day?” She laughs. “Everyone needs a pause and a safe safe space where no one is making phone calls.” However, it is not only in the set – access coordinators can also consult when building studios to ensure access to mobility.
“I think a lot of productions want to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive, but they just need support to do it,” says Hamil. “Some people are comparing this to that of an intimacy coordinator. You have there and although you may have your cast and crew that feel good about doing what are comfortable, you still have this safe space if you need. ”
She also expects to have more access coordinators to help fill the representation gap in the sector. “Just getting involved with an access coordinator, the productions are saying, ‘We see you, let’s include you.’ And that does not necessarily mean telling a story to the disabled – it is inclusive in every respect to someone in the production office. ”
In a strange desire for someone who has just begun in a new role, Hamil’s hope is that his services are not even needed in a few years. “Access coordination makes sense now until it’s just a second nature to incorporate it into our productions,” she says. “Eventually, we won’t even need an access coordinator, because it will be just a natural part of it.”
SIGHT INVISION arrives at Able’s social media channels on February 26
