Every Saturday, Zhang Xinsheng drives two hours to see a movie with pals, navigating Beijing’s perplexing metro system with his white cane and a speaking map that screams directions on his phone.
Zhang was blind in his early twenties as a result of a degenerative illness, but since then he’s acquired a passion for films at the “talking film” group, where volunteers deliver entertaining narration to a group of blind or partially sighted moviegoers.
“It felt like a (new) world had opened up for me after I first listened to a film in 2014,” he said.
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“Despite my blindness, I felt I could grasp the movie. As (the narrator) portrayed the events… of laughter and crying, vivid images formed in my mind’s eye.”
He still makes the weekly trek to a theater in Qianmen, in the heart of old Beijing, despite the fact that he is 51 years old.
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A small organization of volunteers, Mu Theater, which was the first in China to present films to blind audiences, holds Saturday screenings for dozens of blind spectators.
Their approach is uncomfortably low-tech. Face expressions, unsaid gestures, the surroundings, and clothes are all described by a narrator.
They communicate visual signals that would otherwise go unnoticed, such as an abrupt change in landscape from falling leaves to snow, which indicates the passage of time.
The club aired “A Street Cat Named Bob” last month, a film about a ginger cat that helps a homeless guy in London quit drugs and become a best-selling author.
Wang Weili, the narrator, summarized what is happening on-screen as follows:
“London, England’s capital, is blanketed in snow. In between the Chinese-dubbed speech, he observed, “It’s a little like Beijing, but the skyscrapers aren’t that tall.”
“A man wearing binoculars, which are two long round cylinders used to see far away objects, is watching James sing on a street corner with Bob the cat.”
As he spoke, there was a deafening quiet. Instead of whispering or munching on food, the audience listened carefully.
‘Explain what you see to me.’
After narrating “The Terminator” to a friend, Wang was motivated to introduce films to blind audiences.
“When I depicted the action sequences, I saw sweat running down his brow. He was ecstatic,” he said. “He kept telling me to tell me what you’re seeing!”
In 2005, Wang used his funds to rent a small space in an ancient Beijing courtyard and launch the talking film club, which consisted of a small flat-screen TV, a second-hand DVD player, and around 20 chairs.
His makeshift cinema, which was 20 square meters in size, was constantly full.
It can be difficult to explain films to blind audiences, especially if the plot contains historical or fictional aspects that the audience has never seen before.
Before screening “Jurassic Park” for instance, Wang lets the audience feel several dinosaur models.
“I watch a film at least six or seven times… and write my own detailed script,” the businessman-turned-disability activist said.
Xin Mu now partners with bigger cinemas for their screenings. The pandemic has also pushed the team to introduce a streaming service with recorded audio narrations.
The group has screened nearly 1,000 films over the past 15 years.
China has more than 17 million people who are visually impaired. Eight million of them are completely sightless, according to The China Association for the Blind.
For years, activists on the Chinese mainland have advocated for laws requiring audio descriptions for films, television shows, and artwork.
Xin Mu’s free film screenings provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for blind spectators to participate in the world’s largest box office.
Wang was inspired to expose films to blind audiences after describing “The Terminator” to a buddy.
“I saw sweat dripping down his brow when I drew the action moments. He was overjoyed,” he said. “He kept telling me that I needed to tell him what I was seeing!”
In 2005, Wang used his funds to rent a small space in an ancient Beijing courtyard and launch the talking film club, which consisted of a small flat-screen TV, a second-hand DVD player, and around 20 chairs.
His makeshift cinema, which was 20 square meters in size, was constantly full.
It can be difficult to explain films to blind audiences, especially if the plot contains historical or fictional aspects that the audience has never seen before.
