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WHEN ACCESSIBLE MEDIA INC. (AMI) LAUNCHED THE DISABILITY SCREEN OFFICE (DSO) in April 2022, it did so with the goal of increasing accurate and meaningful disability representation in Canadian media, amplifying voices of Canadians with disabilities, and revealing and removing industry accessibility barriers.

scope and estimated budget. The goal is to publish a framework of first-round findings in 2024, with a full, final report expected the following year.

BY AMBER DOWLING

On the heels of its one-year anniversary, the DSO has made plenty of advances in achieving those goals, including framing out its board of directors with the financial support of Telefilm Canada and completing phase one research on a Canada Media Fund (CMF)-supported Best Practices Guide for Disability Engagement in the Canadian Film and Television Industry.

“It’s been a wild ride,” interim executive director Andrew Morris tells Playback of the past year. “We’ve been building an organization that has the capacity and governance to make the kind of changes that are needed for the industry to be accessible as a whole. And I mean everything – from education, to development of programs, to production, to showcasing your projects at events. It’s a huge task.”

He says the DSO also supported AMI’s initial Accessible Writers’ Lab and increased its presence at key industry events, including the Canadian Media Producers Association’s (CMPA) Prime Time event earlier this year in Ottawa and Content Canada in Toronto last September.

Morris does not self-identify as a person with a disability, which he says has been his biggest challenge. The DSO expects to name a permanent executive director soon.

“The majority of our board members are people who live in experience of disability,” says board chair Yazmine Laroche. “But Andrew didn’t just dream up the DSO, he did a lot of great work.”

Looking ahead, the DSO is close to beginning the second phase of its best practices guide, which involves assembling a committee of community representatives to oversee the project now that they’ve figured out the

“The best practices are going to evolve, so we may need to do more research or make sure it’s always upto-date,” says Laroche. “We’re also learning from what’s happening internationally, like the U.K., Australia and the U.S., and seeing what we can learn and apply in a Canadian context.”

In the interim, the DSO is working on unrolling training modules and a hub on its website comprising accessibility resources for those in the industry and anyone looking to enter it. As they do so, Morris says the CMF and Telefilm will continue their financial support. Laroche adds the DSO is also actively seeking new partnerships following a big strategic planning session in early February.

“You can’t do everything, so we’re figuring out and focusing on the things that are going to make the biggest difference based on our research,” she says.

One potential initiative is a production accessibility coordinator project, which would help train and implement a go-to person on productions for anything to do with accessibility. It’s a role Laroche says is emerging internationally, and that can make a huge difference in the Canadian screen industry. Another is figuring out how to increase mentorship opportunities so people with disabilities can get the experience they need.

The DSO also has a lead on a potential project on access funding, which could level the playing field and help lower-budget projects finance required accommodations when hiring someone with a disability. Finally, the DSO is also working on a training program for associations and businesses, and will continue to do event delegations.

“We’ll continue to work with event producers to help make their events accessible,” Morris adds. “And continue to create opportunities for disabled creatives looking to network and get involved in the industry.”