Photo by Amelia Read • 19th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival • 2024

Relaxed Screen

“Relaxed screenings” are adapted cinema screenings that have a few different features to standard screenings. These adaptations can make the environment more comfortable or accessible to people with access needs, and have been designed in consultation with neurodivergent people of all ages, and people living with dementia.

Our Relaxed Screen

At BFMAF 2026, we will be piloting a dedicated Relaxed Screen at the Town Hall Chambers, which will use the principles of a relaxed screening all weekend. The Relaxed Screen differs from a standard screen in the following ways:

• Gentle lighting, so not too dark
• Lower volume on the audio
• People can get up and move around freely
• There is space in the room with seats further apart
• There is a mix of seating options, some more comfy
• You can make noise in the space
• You can come and go as you please
• There is an area outside the screen that is quiet where you can hang out
• There are more people on hand to help you out if you need anything
• There are no trailers before films start

The Programme

The Relaxed Screen offers the same film programme to that in the Maltings’ Cinema at the Barracks, and at the same time. All films will start on time without trailers and will be followed by pre-recorded Q&As or responses where available (refer to Relaxed Screen schedule for details).

Your Relaxed Festival Pass reserves your seat for all relaxed film screenings in the programme. On Sunday afternoon, you can also choose to attend the Palliative Care Workshop led by artist and community activist Mikiki as part of Queer Care Caravan at the Guild Hall, or Dub Epistemologies: Luton Carnival in the 2000s, a hybrid talk and live audio essay by Ashley Holmes at the Maltings’ Cinema at the Barracks. These events are free for pass holders but they need to be booked in advance. You can book tickets here.

This year, we have Descriptive Subtitles (SDH /captions) available for all dialogue across the programme except for the films included in Focus: Mohaiemen + Sagar, which have English Language Subtitles for non-English language dialogue. Details for the subtitles available for each film are listed on the programme page for every screening.

There will be live captions in the Relaxed Screen for two programmes that are presented live at the Maltings Cinema at the Barracks: Disablement in the Age of Ambivalence and COMMS FAIL (Scratch Performance).

We are unable to provide audio description or BSL interpretation at the Festival this year.

Content and warning information is available on the webpage for each film in the programme, where applicable.

Q&As

Select Q&As will be pre-recorded and screened in the Relaxed Screen following screenings across the weekend. Live Q&As taking place at the Barracks during the festival will be recorded and made available as recordings online after the Festival.

We are sorry that audiences in the Relaxed Screenings will not be able to participate and ask questions during live Q&As, but due to technical issues we are unable to accommodate this.However, we have reserved five seats for every screening in both the Relaxed Screen and the Maltings’ Cinema at the Barracks. This means there will be a degree of flexibility for both Relaxed and Festival Passholders to attend a screening in a different venue to the one your Pass allows, and enables Relaxed Passholders to attend live Q&As.

To book in advance, please email info@bfmaf.org with your requests. On the day, please speak to a member of BFMAF staff in the Maltings’ foyer or at the Festival Hub in the Town Hall Guild Hall and we will do our best to accommodate.

Buying Tickets

You can buy your Relaxed Festival Pass through the website, and this gives you access to the full festival Programme, over 20 – 22 March 2026 in our Relaxed Screen, with the option to add two communal meals on Friday and Saturday evening.

You can request a free companion ticket for a personal assistant.

Buy your Relaxed Festival Pass or Day Pass here.

Access to the Town Hall Council Chamber

The Town Hall is a heritage building with limited accessibility. You can find detailed notes on access to the Town Hall Council Chamber (our Relaxed Screen) and to the Town Hall Guild Hall (Festival Hub and social area) here, which we would recommend anyone with access needs checks out before your visit, but in brief:

• The rooms can be accessed via stairs, there is no lift.
• For wheelchair users or people who need to use a lift, the rooms can be accessed via:
  • a stair climber at the front entrance (wider outdoor stone staircase) for non-ambulatory wheelchair users, or
  • a stair climber on the side entrance (narrow indoor staircase)
  • Assistance can be called from street level by intercom.

Please note: the process of using the stair climbers can take a few minutes per user so we advise arriving 15 minutes early in case of queues.

• There are two further steps into the Relaxed Screen which will have ramped access.
• There is an accessible toilet.
• The Town Hall Guild Hall (social area) will be used as a space for Festival audiences to use between screenings and at meal times. If this feels too busy/noisy, the Youth Hostel 1st floor is available as a quiet space.

The Maltings’ Cinema at the Barracks, the other Festival venue, is accessible for wheelchair users with four wheelchair spaces and an accessible toilet.The screenings at the Barracks are standard (not relaxed) screenings, with live Q&As after the majority of films (pre-recorded Q&As will be screened at both venues).

Our detailed notes also include travel and parking guidance: BFMAF 2026 Venue Access Information.pdf

Ask for Support

We want to make your visit as comfortable as possible.

We are currently producing:

• A visual social story – a photo walkthrough of the experience, arriving at the venue and getting into the screen
• A map of the festival including accessibility facilities

Please get in touch with our access producer, Toki, with any questions or to chat things through:

By phone: 07866 451949

By email: access@bfmaf.org.uk using subject ‘Access’