Audio description in Russia 1

Audio description in Russia has a long history, which has been almost unknown to the rest of the world because of a certain “terminological iron curtain”. As early as in November 1912, a report about so-called “film prompters” was published. These prompters helped blind musicians understand the plot of motion pictures. It is the first known experience of describing a film to the visually impaired. Since then, audio description kept conquering the largest country in the world from the East (by adopting the experience of Japanese benshi) and from the West (by re-inventing film lectures of the silent film era). It even changed its name to typhlocommenting but then returned to its original name. Now it is a widely accepted practice supported by hundreds of enthusiasts and by the academic community.