The release of the country's first audio film will enable visually impaired Chinese to enjoy a movie like never before.

Examination 1977 will be played publicly for 158,000 visually impaired residents of Shanghai, where the film was produced, from April 23. Audiences can enjoy the movie free of charge, the Shanghai Disabled Persons' Federation said.

The audio film -- also called a "barrier-free film" -- features recorded narrations that describe scenes for blind viewers, who would otherwise miss out on the movie's non-auditory aspects.

"It allows blind people to better enjoy their lives," Shanghai Association for the Blind director Zhao Jihong said. The association worked with Shanghai Film Group Corp to develop and produce the film.

"We added narrations in intervals among the original dialogues and edited the film as necessary, so blind audiences can track the storyline's development and get a sense of the atmosphere," Zhao said.

She explained blind people previously had to rely on volunteers' live narrations, which were often chaotic. And it was difficult to find volunteers in the first place. "That's why we decided to ask professionals to do the recording and make it easy to understand," Zhao said.

The film's subtitles make it accessible for hearing impaired audiences, too, she added.

In addition to the public showing of Examination 1977, copies would be distributed among community libraries. Blind audiences could enjoy it for free at the library, or take advantage of a free delivery service.

The production of audio movies is the brainchild of former Shanghai Film Group Corp employee Jiang Hongyuan. The blind 66-year-old heads a barrier-free film studio, which plans to produce 10 more movies this year.

(China Daily April 15, 2009)