Buffalo Sonnet: A Digital Comic

In a project commissioned by New York’s Lincoln Center, SADC produced an audio-described version of the digital comic, “Buffalo Sonnet.”

This artistic meditation on the Black experience tells the story of the historic San Juan Hill neighborhood in Manhattan, a vibrant cultural hub in the early 20th century that was eventually demolished to make way for Lincoln Center.

In close consultation with the comic’s creator, writer and illustrator Kamau Ware and Lincoln Center staff, SADC developed an innovative approach to making the work accessible for blind and low-vision audiences. We wrote detailed descriptions for the art and used a combination of sound design and voice acting to clearly distinguish the AD from the comic’s own narration, character dialogue, and thoughts. Our narrators, including native New Yorkers, were able to draw on authentic voices and personalities, bringing a unique flair to the script.

The described video adaptation of the “Buffalo Sonnet” comic is featured on the Lincoln Center’s Legacies of San Juan Hill page and you can watch the described version of Buffalo Sonnet on YouTube.

Credits

Audio Description Script writer and Scrolling Video Production: Kensuke Nakamura

Blind quality control: Robert Kingett

Audio Description Narration by [Project Lead Nefertiti Matos Olivares

Voice Actors: Barbara Faison and Thomas Reid

Audio Editing and Sound Design: Thomas Reid.

#BarbaraFaison #KensukeNakamura #NefertitiMatosOlivares #NefertitiNarrator #NefertitiProjectLead #RobertKingett #SADC #ThomasReid

Access:Horror

So inclusive, it’s scary.

Proudly ranked among the Top 5 Most Accessible Festivals in the 2023 Accessibility Scorecard Impact Report, Access:Horror is committed to ensuring a welcoming, barrier-free experience for all.

Access:Horror celebrates disability, genre cinema, and all that’s good in the world. Hosted by Ariel Baska (filmmaker, author, podcaster), the event will feature short film screenings, panels, and discussions, with luminaries in the horror and disability advocacy communities, and more.

In partnership with the George A. Romero Foundation and SHUDDER, Access:Horror hosts a hybrid film festival and industry summit online and live in New York City. The event is August 1st, 2025. Online tickets are $10. On-site tickets are $25. Buy your tickets, or donate to become a sponsor, and find the full program schedule on the One Cause website.

The event is at DCTV, at 87 Lafayette St in New York City. The program starts at 4 PM Eastern with a block of short films called Womb to Tomb. The second block, Flesh of My Flesh, starts at 7:30 PM. The event also includes performances and a live taping of the Blerdy Massacre podcast.

Accessibility information for the on-site and virtual screenings is available on the Access:Horror website and the ticketing site. Please contact festival organizers at [email protected] if you need financial or other support to purchase a ticket.

Social Audio Description Collective produced AD for seven films in the lineup: Flesh Ballet, Golden Hour, Lady Parts, Slasher, The Monster Inside My Head, The Shadow Wrangler, and Tight.

Audio description written by Project Lead Cheryl Green, Oliver Baker, and non-member associates Eboni Gaytan and Noah Kemp. Narration by Cheryl, Oliver, Eboni, Thomas Reid, and non-member associates Grant Miller and Tanja Milojevic. Blind QC by Robert Kingett and non-member associate Rick Hammond. Audio editing by Thomas, Cheryl, and Oliver.

#AccessHorror #ArielBaska #CherylGreen #OliverBaker #RobertKingett #SADC #ThomasReid

Be Here Now

Celeste, a grieving artist, returns to their hometown for a quick visit, but when their ride’s car is stolen, they must spend the night revisiting the people and places they left behind, realizing that connection, joy, and magic are at play even when life feels impossible.

Be Here Now merges the aesthetics of irreverent queer cinema and ’90s/2000s teen dramas through a lens of poetry & place, legacies of queer resistance, and DIY underground art & music that re-imagines what a coming-of-age story can be in a time of late-stage capitalism and disconnection. The film is by Chichi Castillo and Lauren R. Melton, in collaboration with First Light Productions, Dude Sweet, Lo Rot, and Stone Dove.

Audio description written by Cheryl Green. Narrated by Nefertiti Matos Olivares. Blind QC by Robert Kingett. Audio editing by Thomas Reid.

#CherylGreen #ChichiCastillo #LaurenRMelton #NefertitiMatosOlivares #RobertKingett #SADC #ThomasReid

Las Cosas Que Brillan

Las Cosas Que Brillan isn’t just a film—it’s a love letter to the Trans Latinx community. ⁠ Featuring a story of resilience, self-discovery, and hope, this film gives a voice to stories that deserve to be seen and heard.⁠

In this film by Sotomayor Productions, a curious young mermaid defies her mother’s warnings and ventures to the surface, only to discover the danger that lies above after a violent encounter with a conquistador.

Audio description written by Cheryl Green. Narrated by Nefertiti Matos Olivares. Blind QC by Robert Kingett. Audio editing by Thomas Reid.
⁠

#CherylGreen #NefertitiMatosOlivares #RobertKingett #SADC #SotomayorProductions #ThomasReid

Thanks, Babs!

Meet Babs, an optimistic octogenarian speed-racing through life, one five-year plan at a time.

Thanks, Babs! premieres at Frameline 49 on June 20th, 2025 in the Homegrown program. This program celebrates queer stories from the Bay Area. It features sci-fi, heists, gay stuff, elder stories, and more.

Thanks, Babs! is the latest documentary produced by Frankly Speaking Films.

Audio description written by Cheryl Green. Narrated by Nefertiti Matos Olivares. Blind QC by Robert Kingett. Audio editing by Thomas Reid.

#CherylGreen #FranklySpeakingFilms #NefertitiMatosOlivares #RobertKingett #SADC #ThomasReid

2025 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

For the second year in a row, SADC produced the audio description that was provided to all of the finalists of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, a program feature starting last year. As before, no specific information about any of this years fifteen finalist short films was provided to SADC prior to our receiving them, and we delivered Blind-reviewed, sound edited and mixed AD audio tracks for all of them within nine days. This year, the only films audiences were presented at the live announcement and screening of the finalists and at the 12th annual live awards show that followed a week later were “Open AD” versions incorporating SADC AD–as well as open captions. Emcee Nic Novicki gave the AD a fantastic shout-out and screened a brief promo of us as part of the show.

Read more about the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge on their website or our blurb about our work last year.

All of the films showcase deafness or disability on- or behind-the-scenes, and to enter, they had to be scripted, shot and finished within five days by volunteers. They are allowed to run anywhere from one to five minutes, and up to a minute extra for credits. This year the challenge called for a thriller or suspense film.

Project Lead was Thomas Reid. Writers were Cheryl Green, Oliver Baker, founding former member Kensuke Nakamura, and new associates Sean Collins, Casaundra Freeman, and Eboni Gaytan. Blind QC by Nefertiti Matos Olivares and Robert Kingett. Narrated by Thomas, Cheryl, Oliver, Nefertiti, Barbara Faison, Casaundra, and Eboni.

You can watch all fifteen finalist films with open AD and open captions through this YouTube playlist.

#BarbaraFaison #CherylGreen #EastersealsDisabilityFilmChallenge #KensukeNakamura #NefertitiMatosOlivares #OliverBaker #RobertKingett #SADC #ThomasReid