In the cinema the lights go down. The music starts to play, when
suddenly you hear a male voice speaking over it: "The movie begins,
it is called The Door, on the screen there is a piece of
glass with lots of blobs on it…"
On the afternoon of January 23, an unusual screening took place
in the Beijing Stellar Cineplex; dozens of blind people gathered to
"watch" the new film by director Li Shaohong, The Door.
Similar activities have been previously organized by the Hongdandan
Education and Culture Exchanges Center, but this was the first time
a large cinema was used for the event.
The group met regularly throughout the past two years in a small
house on West Gulou Street in Beijing. Every Saturday morning at
9:30, blind friends would gather to enjoy the fun brought by a TV,
a DVD player, and a loudspeaker. The "narrators" were volunteers
from the center, including the founder Da Wei. Their limited space
was shabby but warm, inspiring a profound name -- "Eyes of Heart
Cinema."
In 2003, Da Wei and his wife Zheng Xiaojie rented a courtyard
home and set up the center to provide skill training for the blind.
A year later, he began broadcasting a radio program aimed at
sharing blind people's perspectives on the world around them. The
program was well received while featured on Beijing Radio.
During the summer of 2005, a blind friend came to visit Da Wei
while he was watching The Terminator. "It is an action
movie, so the sounds are very furious, you know, explosions and
fights. Since my friend kept asking me what was happening, I began
to tell him what I saw on the screen. When the movie ended, he was
so excited that he carried me in his arms and shouted with tears,
'Finally I can see movies!'"
This experience enlightened Da Wei. "Why don't I have a cinema
for the blind to listen to movies?" he wondered. The center
embraced the idea, and the "Eyes of Heart Cinema" was set up that
same month.
"Narrating movies for the blind is not that simple. You have to
understand the people's feelings and know what they really want,"
Da Wei explains. He often closes his eyes while at home and walks
around the living room, bedroom, and kitchen to help better
understand what it means to be blind. For most movies, Da Wei needs
three to four hours of preparation before they are presented.
Word travels fast in Beijing, and the weekly meetings are
gaining popularity. Some dedicated film fans will travel over an
hour by bus just to attend the movies. 45-year-old Yang Linshan is
a loyal participant. "I lost my sight when I was young," he said.
"Listening to movies has become an important part in my life. I
look forward to the Saturday movie all week long."
Da Wei and his wife have spent all they have on maintaining the
center and the cinema. They even sold their house and now live in a
relative's home. The center is a nonprofit organization, so it
depends on donations from caring citizens and support from
businesses. All the employees work voluntarily.
So far, over 1,000 people have enjoyed the "Eyes of Heart
Cinema," and Da Wei himself has presented about 60 films. He hopes
the next step will be producing narrated copies that people can use
at home. Several film companies are interested in the idea and have
provided him with the rights for around a dozen movies.
Beyond the cinema, his dream is to someday open a theme park for
the disabled with models of famous architecture from around the
world. In this way, the blind can interactively experience large
buildings, monuments, even small roads and bridges using their
sense of touch.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, January 31, 2007)