Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

506 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1Y3

Phone: (416) 637-3123

The 2017 Canadian International Documentary Festival starts this week on April 27th and runs until May 7th. The festival will showcase 230 films from a record 58 countries! One of the cinemas where there will be a variety of screenings is the Annex-favourite Hoc Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. Unfortunately, many of the public venues are not accessible but we wanted to highlight the great spaces that are which will hopefully act as examples in the future. If you can’t make it to one of the screenings during the festival, the cinema showcases documentaries all year round!

The cinema is located outside of the Bathurst St. subway station which is accessible. It is also located in front of an accessible bus stop and a large Green P lot on Lippincott St. On a Saturday afternoon the sidewalks were busy, but the large doors to the cinema were wide open for easy entry. Make note that there is an automatic door opener to the left of the cinema which controls the door for the box office. The entryway measures 36 inches wide. Upon leaving this would also be the door used as it is controlled by the indoor automatic button as well. Staff at the cinema admitted that both buttons are difficult to notice at first glance so please ask if unsure.

Indoors, the cinema’s lobby is quite small so there is an immediate decision whether to go left or right to find seating. If using a mobility device, the cinema has a permanently reserved section at the top and middle of the floor on both sides. This section does not have any fixed seating in case someone would want to transfer into a chair and park their device or use a wheelchair and have their guest sit beside them. I suggest using the middle section as there is some obstruction of the screen sitting at the back! The staff also stated that they do not require someone to call beforehand as these sections rarely get used. There is a balcony level, but no elevator access so I didn’t explore it.  

The space has a great accessible washroom on the main floor just right of the concession stand. There are two grab bars surrounding the toilet and a space 100 x 100 inches in front and beside the toilet. Soap and dryer are easily accessed around the floating sink, however there are no automatic features. The doorway measures 36 inches wide and includes a lever handle as well as a lowered hook behind the door to hang items.

Service animals are welcome in the cinema and fees are not charged for support persons attending with a visitor.The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema offers closed captioning or described video (audio description) for select movies. The cinema would like to make note that the equipment is subject to availability and you may be asked to leave a form of ID to ensure the safe return of the equipment. For a list of films with closed captioning or described sound, visit: http://www.hotdocs.ca/news/hd17-cc-ds

For a full list of screenings at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema visit: http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/list.aspx?epguid=a1a41036-cbe1-4f35-bc34-1ed13d4bd525&

If visiting the cinema or any other theatre during the festival, let us know how your experience was in the comment section below!