Pablo Romero Fresco / Federico Spoletti

Pablo Romero Fresco is senior lecturer at Universidade de Vigo (Spain) and Honorary Professor of Translation and Filmmaking at the University of Roehampton (London, UK).

He is the author of the books Subtitling through Speech Recognition: Respeaking, Accessible Filmmaking and Transformative Media Accessibility. He is the leader of the international research group GALMA (Galician Observatory for Media Access) and works as a consultant for institutions and companies such as the European Parliament or Netflix. Pablo is also a filmmaker. His first short documentary, Joining the Dots (2012), was used by Netflix and film schools around Europe to raise awareness about audio description.

Federico Spoletti is co-founder and CEO of SUB-TI, a film subtitling company based in London, which provides audiovisual translation services all over the world. SUB-TI works with more than 40 languages and focuses on subtitling for international film festivals, film archives and streaming platforms. In 2010 he co-founded SUB-TI ACCESS, a company promoting media accessibility, specializing in subtitles for the deaf and audio description for the blind. He also launched FRED Film Radio, a web-based radio network which boasts 29 channels, with thematic channels dedicated to specific cinema content such as film education and the film industry.

Pablo Romero Fresco is senior lecturer at Universidade de Vigo (Spain) and Honorary Professor of Translation and Filmmaking at the University of Roehampton (London, UK).

He is the author of the books Subtitling through Speech Recognition: Respeaking, Accessible Filmmaking and Transformative Media Accessibility. He is the leader of the international research group GALMA (Galician Observatory for Media Access) and works as a consultant for institutions and companies such as the European Parliament or Netflix. Pablo is also a filmmaker. His first short documentary, Joining the Dots (2012), was used by Netflix and film schools around Europe to raise awareness about audio description.

Federico Spoletti is co-founder and CEO of SUB-TI, a film subtitling company based in London, which provides audiovisual translation services all over the world. SUB-TI works with more than 40 languages and focuses on subtitling for international film festivals, film archives and streaming platforms. In 2010 he co-founded SUB-TI ACCESS, a company promoting media accessibility, specializing in subtitles for the deaf and audio description for the blind. He also launched FRED Film Radio, a web-based radio network which boasts 29 channels, with thematic channels dedicated to specific cinema content such as film education and the film industry.

Accessible Filmmaking

As diversity and inclusion become more important in society, audiovisual media (and film in particular) are being scrutinised as to the extent to which different groups are being adequately represented on- and off-screen. One of these groups is that of people with disabilities (blind and deaf users, viewers with cognitive disabilities, etc.), for whom the issue of media accessibility is key. Furthermore, given that subtitles are currently being used by 80% of the population, media accessibility services have quickly become essential for everyone. Unfortunately, most filmmakers are still not familiar or involved with the production of accessible versions, which are seen as an afterthought and are relegated to the distribution process. This presentation tackles the progress made over the past years with the initiative known as “accessible filmmaking”, that is, the consideration of translation and accessibility during the (post)production process through the collaboration of filmmakers and translation/access experts. This initiative, which has been presented at film festivals, broadcasters and VoD platforms, is particularly pertinent for film schools, where soon-to-be filmmakers can be trained as to how to consider diverse audiences for their films and who can learn to see accessibility not as a constraint but rather as a creative opportunity.