11/09/2024
Now it can be told: The Reston Accessibility Committee is the reason that the Look Dine-in Cinema at Reston Town Center now has Sunday open captions. This committee gave permission to post the following article from their newsletter.
Open Caption Movies at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas Reston
Reston Accessibility Committee (RAC) is pleased to announce that LOOK Dine-in Cinemas in Reston Town Center is now providing open-caption screenings of its movies routinely on Sunday evenings. This is a major service for the deaf and hard-of hearing community in the Reston area. Depending on public response, there is the possibility that this program can be expanded to more time periods during the week.
Since its inception as a committee of the Reston Citizens Association, RAC has worked primarily to improve accessibility for those with mobility disabilities. Each theater in the LOOK Dine-in Cinemas Reston has already been designed to accommodate two wheelchairs with adjacent seats for companions. Advocacy for the deaf and hard- of-hearing community was a new endeavor for RAC.
After being contacted by Erik Nordlof, founder of DC Deaf Moviegoers and Allies, earlier this year, RAC agreed to support his request to seek open caption screenings of movies at the LOOK theater in Reston. For some time now, the LOOK Cinemas Reston theater management has been providing open captions for the Senior Movie Day films it runs once a month for the Reston Association. To show all current movies with open captions on a regular schedule was a much larger commitment for the LOOK Cinemas team. Under the leadership of Shelby Schultz, Director of Programming for LOOK Cinemas, it has now been accomplished. Starting Sunday, October 20, one showing of each film between 6:00-9:00 P.M. (considered prime time for dine-in theaters) has been provided with open captions. Ms. Schultz is willing to advocate for LOOK Cinemas’ expansion of this program; however, she needs public support of the current operation to do so.
RAC encourages the Reston community to attend these showings so that open-caption movie opportunities can be increased throughout the week at LOOK Dine-in Cinemas Reston. Help spread the word!