CAN people who are blind or visuallyimpaired watch movies? In Indonesia, a group of volunteers, who call themselves Bioskop Bisik, have found a way to help the blind enjoy movies — by whispering to them.
Inspired by them, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dengkil’s Film Circle Club decided to organise a similar “blind date” for 23 students from the institution.
Students who are pursuing their foundation studies in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), science, law and engineering were paired with pupils from SK Pendidikan Khas (SKPK) Jalan Batu, Kuala Lumpur, to watch Wonder at the university’s Studio Orkid. They guided them by translating and explaining nondialogue scenes throughout the two-hour movie.
For Iman Roslan, one of the “whisperers”, it was an interesting experience for her.
“Even though it was fun, it was not as simple as we thought it would be to describe each scene and how the story goes as it was shown on screen. There were some difficulties we had to go through as it is important to use the right words that can explain the movie, the characters and the scenes well.
“Whisperers really need to be fast to follow the flow of the movie because we don’t want them to get bored during the film screening.”
She added that since the movie was in English and that the pupils did not really understand the language that well, whisperers needed the skill to translate the English movie to simple Bahasa Melayu to make them understand.
“Before the day of the event, we had a few meetings and practices. The whisperers are required to watch the movie beforehand to understand it better. They must identify the right timing to explain the story, for instance, in between dialogues where the scene has no conversations.
“We also had impromptu practices, where we worked with some students who had their eyes covered so that they could not see what’s on the screen. The lecturer showed us a couple of short films and tested our skills in explaining the story without watching them beforehand. Later, those who had their eyes covered, shared what they understood from the explanation before comparing it to the film they watched.
Project director Nik Mohd Afiq Nik Luqman said the event aimed to give the UiTM students an opportunity to take part in humanitarian activities with the blind community.
“The objectives of this event are simple — to get closer to the community in need, to learn from them and to help them experience movie-watching as much as we can.”
He added that the movie was chosen in order to captivate the students with its moral values and the character Auggie’s witty scenes, acted by Jacob Tremblay.
Iman said meeting them for the first time was a nerve-wrecking moment because most of the whisperers had no experience in handling kids with special needs.
“Well, we’re strangers after all,” she said, adding that each had time to break the ice with their partners.
“It was good that we went to fetch the kids at their school in Kuala Lumpur. On our way back to the university in Dengkil, we had some time in the bus to get to know our partners better so that they were comfortable with us.
“We had to talk to them and ask questions gently because initially, they were quite afraid of the whisperers. But after having friendly conversations, they started to open up and were very cheerful.
Iman added that while some of these pupils could eat on their own, there were some who they had to feed them their lunches.
“Overall, the kids were obedient. However, not all are fully blind. Some are colour blind while others are partially blind. “
Iman said her partner, Pyong Sweet Rou, whom she called Sweet, could see quite well.
“During the movie screening, Sweet asked a few questions wanting to know more about the characters in the movie. I tried my best to describe everything; the sceneries, characters, characteristics and the moral values and lesson learned from scenes and the movie. Even though we know that they wouldn’t fully understand the dialogues, we still give them time to listen to it.”
Hazliana Hossen, a teacher at SKPK Jalan Batu, expressed her joy and gratitude over the event.
“Our students finally got a chance to go outside and they were so excited, since we don’t have much opportunity to conduct field trips. I believe this effort can give my students exposure to English language. Our school is always waiting for universities and corporate companies to work together and give more experience to these kids.”
Nik Mohd Afiq hopes to see more projects in the future. “From what I have seen, both parties received an abundance of benefits from the project. I hope that today can be a stepping stone for other parties to join our adventure and create similar humanitarian projects for the communities who are in need.”
Film Circle Club is one of the curriculum clubs in UiTM Dengkil where movies are the main platform for club members to learn about various aspects of life.