My grandmother is blind. Help me find performances with DVS for her.

July 9, 2020 11:18 AM

My 95-year old grandmother just lost the last remnants of her sight. Between the coronavirus and her general frailty, she's essentially homebound with my aunt and uncle. They have access to standard streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+) as well as the National Library Service for the Blind, but I just realized that the NT Live youtube releases include DVS and so she can enjoy them. Are there any other arts / theater / performance groups that are releasing more work online during COVID-times that also include DVS? Or any streaming services that offer DVS on many of their shows?

She prefers nonfiction, historical fiction, or literary works more than, say, sci-fi or fantasy, and usually avoids graphic violence, sex, or language--think overall PG-13 ratings, but it's not like a few extra f-bombs will ruin things for her. Any ideas?

posted by athenasbanquet to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: The American Council of the Blind maintains a comprehensive and current listing of audio-described Netflix titles that they update every Tuesday and Friday:

The following programs (movies, TV series, documentaries, or Netflix Originals) are AUDIO DESCRIBED IN ENGLISH on USA Netflix (streaming only). See also Foreign Description in the USA. To learn how to access description on Netflix, see our Audio Description Via Netflix page, which also contains the process for reporting a problem. This listing is provided by the Audio Description Project as a courtesy to people who can't access the list on Netflix because they are not members, or to others who simply find our detailed alphabetized listing more useful.

LAST TITLE UPDATE: Jul 7, 2020; count = 1258 titles. Generally updated Tuesdays and Fridays; some updates are deletions only. Additions to this list are usually posted on Twitter and Facebook. The Added date is the date added here, which may be slightly after Netflix added it. Occasionally, not all episodes of a series are described. We try to note this when we find out. in 2020, Netflix has added a net of about 27 titles each month. See additional notes at the bottom of this page.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:30 AM on July 9, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: VocalEyes sends out The Interval, a "weekly email round-up of accessible arts and culture available online." They're a UK-based organization, so some of the things they mention (e.g., BBC iPlayer content) may be region-restricted, but they list lots of stuff.

For example, they just mentioned this:

Audio Described | Macbeth (2020) (available on YouTube until July 26).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:11 PM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sorry, forgot to mention that the AFB also has a master list of titles available on platforms and services other than Netflix, including the other ones you've mentioned, and they also have a list of DVS content on broadcast networks in the U.S.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:27 PM on July 9, 2020 [1 favorite]