Hungarian Motion Pictures Accessibility Program
- Motion pictures are made accessible for the blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing.
- Civil movement.
- The process: narrative audio track and subtitles, Braille DVD cover.
- The completed films are made available to public organizations.
- Propososal for an extended accessibility law.
- Continous lobbying for support and change in laws and policies.
The mental development and self-respect of a society can be measured in how it relates to it's disadvantageous groups and compatriots. In a
well functioning society, this attentiveness extends beyond the expression of human empathy, to where the community takes on all the responsibilities of
assistance and the creation of equal opportunities. It is well known that wheelchair access to public institutions is now required by law. It is also known that
television broadcasts from the parliament are Sign language interpreted.
There are many equal opportunities which have not been extended to the blind and visually impaired. There's been a great lack of effort from the law
makers to at least make Braille text compulsory on health related products and signs (i.e. pharmaceutical descriptions, public institutions, doctor's office signs, etc.)
The presence of motion pictures have become one of the most stimulating and important phenomenon of our times. All levels of society have a basic need to experience movies. We can dismiss the notions that movies are simply inactive entertainment and that they aren't a relevant force in the shaping of our society: they are the strongest and most influential medium on our culture.
And the blind and visually impaired are left out from this experience!
While it is expected that all DVD movies have subtitles for the hard of hearing and deaf (even the TV shows are subtitled), the blind and visually impaired have no way to enjoy these motion pictures, even though it would be feasible to do so. The method is simple: a narrator - much like in a radio broadcast of a theatre play - describes the action between dialogs. This would be a great help for the blind to 'see' the movie.
Since the DVD versions of most old Hungarian movies are not subtitled, we would like to create them, so that the classical film pieces can be enjoyed by the deaf and hard of hearing.
Our society must take a step towards the elimination of inequality in the accessibility rights, and must to do retroactively. The Hungarian film
classics must be made accessible to the blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing! They have a right for equal opportunities and accessibility in
our society.
A law is being proposed, which would make sure that all future DVD film releases are made accessible to the blind and visually impaired.
The first step in the above proposed program, is to make the most acclaimed works of Hungarian film art accessible, then continue the work with
acclaimed works of the global film history.
Peter Timar
program founder
Peter Timar
program founder
Peter began his career in 1968. From 1974 to 1990 worked in visual effects at the National Film Studio, earning his diploma in cinematography at the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest in 1984. From 1976 to 1985 he was a member of the Bela Balazs Studio, serving two terms as a board member. He was awarded the prestigious Bela Balazs Award in 1989. In the past 30 years, he made such acclaimed films as "Csinibaba", "Zimmer Feri", "Csapd le Csacsi", "6:3", or "Casting minden". For more information and filmography, please visit: : timarpeter.com
In his 2001 film "Blind Guys" he worked with blind actors. This was the moment he came to decide, that these actors must "see" this movie, and so he produced the first Hungarian - dubbed - film for the blind. The Hungarian Motion Pictures Accessibility Program is the continuation and fullfillment his work work with the blind. Peter handles the creative aspect of making a film accessible, as well as directing the overall direction of the program.
David Timar
program manager
David has been working full-time since age 15 and has been an entrepreneur since he was 18 years old. His passion for movies started young and was influenced by his mother and father, the Hungarian director Peter Timar. His management abilities became apparent in high school, where he ended up directing or producing most of the school projects in his years.
After high school, his life took a turn for the entrepreneurial side in Canada and then in Hungary. From starting and selling a software development company, to taking part in establishing a major financial services company in Hungary, he had and currently has many business ventures.
In 2010 he became the executive producer of "Throbbing Stones" (Martin Csaba) and avenues opened up to the film industry. He is currently involved in several Hungarian and US productions as director of Crossway Films. As the manager of the Hungarian Motion Pictures Accessibility Program, he is responsible for communication and marketing, as well as the production tasks of the accessibility workflow.
