Hello and welcome to this blog! Here you will find some of the workshops that Miguel Ángel Font Bisier , a film director and educator who is passionate about inclusive cinema, has been conducting in the past years. Inclusive cinema is a concept that goes beyond accessibility and aims to create films that are respectful, diverse and empowering for all audiences, especially those with disabilities or special needs. In this blog, you will learn about some of the experiences that Miguel Ángel has had teaching and learning from amazing people who share his vision of cinema as a tool for social change.
– In April 2012, he gave a workshop on fantastic cinema and special effects at Hispacón, the Spanish National Science Fiction Convention, where he shared his insights and techniques on creating imaginative and immersive worlds on screen.
– In May 2013 and May 2015, he taught a film workshop at Colegio Miguel de Cervantes, a school for children with special educational needs, where he helped the students to express their creativity and emotions through filmmaking.
– In January 2017, he collaborated with ONCE Valencia, the National Organization of the Spanish Blind, to offer a workshop at San José y San Andrés School, where he introduced the concept of audio description and showed how it can enhance the cinematic experience for people with visual impairments.
– In February 2017, he participated in the Mostra de Cinema Educatiu, a film festival for educational purposes, where he gave a workshop on accessible cinema and showed some of his works that incorporate multisensory elements such as smell, touch, and taste.
– In March 2017, he was invited by the Castilla-La Mancha University to give a training session on «Incluye e inserta», a project that aims to promote social inclusion and employability of people with disabilities through audiovisual media.
– In April 2017, he conducted a workshop and research on multisensory cinema at FNAC, a cultural and entertainment retailer, where he invited the audience to experience cinema in a different way by using various sensory stimuli.
– In August 2017, he traveled to Mexico to give an audio description workshop at the Music and Blindness Festival, an event that celebrates the musical talent of people with visual impairments.
– In March 2018, he visited the Martí Sorolla School, where he gave a workshop on accessibility and inclusion and showed how subtitles and sign language can make cinema more accessible for people with hearing impairments.
– In November 2018, he joined Intramurs, a festival of urban art and culture in Valencia, where he gave a workshop on accessible cinema and presented his project «Sensory Labyrinth Theatre», an interactive and immersive theatrical experience that involves all the senses.
– In October 2019, he offered two workshops at the Espai de Creació Jove de Quartmetratges on accessible/inclusive art, where he taught the participants how to create audiovisual projects that are respectful and inclusive of diversity.
– In May 2020, he collaborated with the Love Yourself Project, an initiative that promotes self-love and empowerment through art, to give a workshop on accessibility and audiovisual inclusion, where he shared his vision and methodology on creating inclusive art.
– In June 2020, he gave a workshop on audiovisual accessibility for drama students at Tot Art, a school of performing arts in Valencia, where he showed how audiovisual media can be used as a tool for artistic expression and social transformation.
– In November 2020, he conducted a workshop for the Association of Social Educators of the Valencian Community on inclusive literature and multimedia, where he discussed how literature and audiovisual media can be used to raise awareness and foster inclusion of people with different abilities and backgrounds.
– In January 2021, he gave a talkbout Inclusive Cinema at the Accecine Film Festival. Miguel was invited to give a talk about his experience as a filmmaker and educator, and to show some of the short films that he has made with people with disabilities.
– In October 2021, he conducted a workshop as part of the Mostra Internacional de Cinema Educatiu at La Purísima School. This was a workshop that Miguel conducted for a group of students from La Purísima School in Valencia. Mostra Internacional de Cinema Educatiu is a film festival that showcases educational films from around the world.
– In February-March 2023, he delivered a 30-hour workshop on film and acting for people with intellectual disabilities for the associations AICO and Prader-Willi Valencia. This was a workshop that Miguel designed and delivered for two associations that work with people with intellectual disabilities: AICO (Association for the Integration of People with Intellectual Disabilities) and Prader-Willi Valencia (Association for People Affected by Prader-Willi Syndrome). The workshop was divided into two parts: one focused on film theory and practice, where the participants learned about different genres, techniques and styles of cinema; and another focused on acting, where the participants explored their body language, voice and emotions through various exercises and games. The workshop culminated in the production of a short film that combined both aspects: film and acting.
– In March 2023, he gave a workshop for teachers on designing an accessible classroom at Boston University. This was a workshop that Miguel gave for a group of teachers from Boston University, who were interested in learning how to make their classrooms more accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities. The workshop covered topics such as universal design for learning, assistive technology, inclusive pedagogy and assessment, and cultural diversity. The workshop also included practical examples and activities that the teachers could apply in their own contexts.
– In July 2023, he co-facilitated a workshop on «From Accessible to Inclusive» for the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Spanish and the National VET Team in their conference «Erasmus+: Vocational Training without limits». This was a workshop that Miguel co-facilitated with his colleague María José García, who is an expert in accessibility and inclusion in vocational education and training (VET). The workshop was part of a conference organized by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Spanish (SEPIE) and the National VET Team (NEVT), which aimed to promote mobility and cooperation among VET institutions in Europe. The workshop addressed the concept of inclusive cinema as an innovative approach to teach and learn languages, culture and skills through film. The workshop also involved a hands-on activity where the participants created their own inclusive film posters using online tools.
As you can see, Miguel Ángel Font Bisier is not only a talented filmmaker and writer but also a passionate educator and activist who strives to make cinema more accessible and inclusive for everyone. If you want to learn more about his work and his workshops, you can visit his website.
We hope you enjoyed reading about these workshops as much as Miguel enjoyed conducting them. If you want to know more about his work or collaborate with him, please feel free to contact him through his website or social media. Thank you for your attention and see you soon!
