2025 Accessibility Programme
As New Zealand’s premier short film festival, Show Me Shorts Film Festival is proud to provide opportunities for all Kiwis to enjoy short films. New Zealanders with hearing impairment or low vision can enjoy some of our most popular films with the addition of captions (in cinema and On Demand) and audio descriptions (On Demand).
Following sold out sessions last year for captioned cinema screenings, this year we are expanding the range of films and locations where these are offered. Captioned cinema screenings of The Sampler and Aotearoa will be available at select cinemas in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with Tauranga screening The Sampler only. Session details and ticketing links are below:
Auckland
Sat 18 Oct, 3:45 pm - Aotearoa (captioned) - The Capitol
Sat 18 Oct, 6:00 pm - The Sampler (captioned) - Beachside Cinemas
Sun 19 Oct, 6:00 pm - Aotearoa (captioned) - Beachside Cinemas
Tauranga
Sun 12 Oct, 4:00 pm - The Sampler (captioned) - Village Cinema
Wellington
Tue 14 Oct, 4:00 pm - Aotearoa (captioned) - Light House Cuba
Wed 15 Oct, 6:15 pm - The Sampler (captioned) - Light House Cuba
Christchurch
Sun 12 Oct, 12:00 pm - Aotearoa (captioned) - Alice Cinemas
Wed 15 Oct, 6:15 pm - The Sampler (captioned) - Alice Cinemas
You can see more information on the films that are screening in our programme pages for The Sampler and Aotearoa.
In addition to the cinemas programme, both The Sampler and Aotearoa collections of short films will be available to view with Captions and Audio Descriptions at Show Me Shorts On Demand during Labour Weekend. Captions and audio descriptions were created by Able thanks to funding from Four Winds Foundation.
Access to these collections of films can be pre-purchased now and the films will be available to view during Labour Weekend. Buy tickets here.
In order to better communicate with all members of the Show Me Shorts community, the website was been redesigned last year, with accessibility in mind. The new website was planned alongside accessibility experts, Lauren Hayes Consultants, who have helped make key improvements to enhance the experience for people with low vision or those who rely on screen readers. These updates ensure smoother navigation, better readability, and a more inclusive environment for all users.
The programme brochure booklet has been redesigned this year, taking into account feedback received from the Show Me Shorts community. Key changes include higher contrast text colours, larger fonts and the addition of index pages. A pull-out Gantt chart showing the spread of screenings in each of the three main centres provides further visual cues to understanding the programme.
Show Me Shorts Festival Director, Gina Dellabarca says: “My team and I believe short films are for everyone. That is why we are working hard to increase the number of opportunities for everyone to engage with our festival. Accessibility is important to us, and we’re working hard within our tight budgets to take steps in this area.”
Show Me Shorts welcomes feedback from the community on the accessibility programme and their recently upgraded website. Comments can be sent to info@showmeshorts.co.nz.
