Bringing movies to life for the blind

At a cinema for the visually impaired in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, Du Chengcheng, 29, describes what is happening on the screen so blind people can "watch" movies.

She says that in the past seven years, she has described 200 movies for nearly 5,000 blind or visually impaired people and written commentaries on more than 30 movies.

The cinema was founded in 2001 in the Jiangjiadun community, where Du works in the community service office. Under the Hawthorn Tree was the first movie Du ever "described". After downloading the movie, she watched it 10 times. She even "watched" it with her eyes closed so she could better understand how her audience would experience it without her commentary.

When the lights came on after the screening, she saw that many in the audience were crying, which Du took pride in. She knew they would not have been able to experience the film so deeply without her commentary.

Gui Yuchun, 54, who lost eyesight because of a brain tumor, regularly visits the cinema. "The last time I had seen a movie was when I was a child. Now 20 years have passed and I can 'see' the movies again, thanks to Du," Gui says.

Wu Yuanmei, deputy secretary of Jiangjiadun's community service office, calls Du a "loving angel".

liukun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 09/08/2017 page4)