The “Accessible Films” selection will meet moviegoers at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival this year through a collaboration between the 63rd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and the Accessible Films Festival.
Taking place from 24 to 31 October 2026, the 63rd International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival will support an inclusive cinema experience through its collaboration with the Accessible Films Festival, which has been held for 14 years and aims to make cinema accessible to everyone through its inclusive approach and accessible screenings. The “Accessible Films” selection aims to ensure that all audiences can access film screenings, marking an important step towards making cinema more accessible.
Through this collaboration, the Golden Orange and the Accessible Films Festival aim to support the participation in film screenings of people with different accessibility needs. Accessible screenings, which make the cinema experience easier for audiences with visual and hearing impairments, will help strengthen equal opportunities in cultural and artistic events while enabling cinema to reach wider audiences in Antalya.
Inclusive Cinema with the Golden Orange and the Accessible Films Festival
As part of the selection, “The Last Whale Singer” will be screened on Saturday, 31 October, at 12:30 p.m., followed by “Young Mothers” at 3:30 p.m. Both screenings will be held free of charge for festivalgoers at the Aspendos Hall of the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM). The films will be presented with audio description for blind and visually impaired audiences and detailed subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
In addition to being an accessible screening, “The Last Whale Singer” will also be presented as an autism-friendly screening. The film will be shown in an environment where audience members are free to move around and eat or drink, the sound level is kept low, and the lights remain dim.
The “Accessible Films” selection will feature “The Last Whale Singer,” a 2025 co-production of Germany, the Czech Republic and Canada directed by Reza Memari. The film follows Vincent, a young humpback whale and the orphaned son of the last Whale Singer, who protected the oceans. The film won Best International Feature Film for Children at the 2025 Schlingel International Film Festival for Children and Young Audience. Also screening is “Young Mothers,” a 2025 co-production of Belgium and France directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. Winner of the Best Screenplay Award and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film tells the story of Jessica, Perla, Julie, Ariane and Naïma, who live in a shelter for young mothers and hope to build a better life for themselves and their babies.
Following the screenings, a talk titled “Watching Films Together Is Possible! Accessible Cinema” will be held with Emrah Kalan and Kıvanç Yalçıner, co-founders of the Be In! Accessible Festivals Network and the Accessible Films Festival. The discussion will explore examples of accessible cinema in Türkiye and around the world, as well as the importance of accessible cinema and the processes involved in producing accessible screenings.
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