In this post, Chaimae highlights the challenges of Audio Description (AD) in Morocco and how her doctoral research linked to creative use of sound aims to overcome these challenges and shape a more inclusive future for accessibility in her country.
Growing up as a Moroccan kid, I had never encountered the term “Audio Description.” It was an unfamiliar concept that only entered my world when I began my studies in filmmaking, specialising in Sound for Film and TV. As I was searching for a topic for my undergraduate final-year project, I stumbled upon the idea of using sound to make films accessible to visually impaired audiences. Yet, despite my goal, I still didn’t know what “Audio Description” meant, nor did I have any knowledge of its existence.
I often wondered how visually impaired people could fully engage with a film when there was no one to describe or explain the scenes with no dialogue. This curiosity stayed with me, leading me to the pivotal questions: What is Audio Description, and what is its current status in Morocco, particularly in film and television?
Fortunately, Audio Description (AD) is already well-established in some parts of the world, particularly in Europe and the United States. Traditionally, AD uses spoken narration to describe important visual elements during moments when there is little or no dialogue. But my interest in sound led me to think beyond description alone. If sound shapes how audiences experience a film, could it also become a tool for accessibility? This question connects closely with the EAD approach, which explores an alternative to traditional AD by using sound design, spatial audio, sound effects, and first-person narration to make film and television more accessible and immersive for visually impaired audiences.
In Morocco, however, the term and technique of Audio Description (AD) remain largely unknown to the general public. Growing up, neither I nor anyone in my surroundings had ever heard of it. Unsurprisingly, there is little academic or professional focus on AD in Morocco, which made me even more motivated to dive into this field.
At the beginning of my journey, I was especially interested in the creative possibilities of sound and how sound design could be used to make films more accessible. However, once I started my research and data collection in Morocco, my perspective began to shift. I realised that, in a context where accessibility tools are still limited or absent, the priority was also much more fundamental: making AD known, available, and valued in the first place. While innovative approaches to accessibility are important, traditional AD itself can already represent a meaningful step towards inclusion for visually impaired audiences in Morocco.
This realisation pushed me to understand why AD is so absent in the country and to uncover the barriers that stand in its way, whether they are related to policy-making, lack of public awareness, limited training, or financial constraints. These questions became the driving force behind my research, and my goal is to address these challenges to help shape a more inclusive future for accessibility in Moroccan media.
To understand the state of AD in Morocco, I needed to engage with professionals in the field. But here’s the obvious challenge: how do you find professionals in a field that barely exists?
The answer lies in the fact that AD, while rare, is not completely absent in Morocco. It has surfaced occasionally at specific cultural events. For instance, the Marrakech International Film Festival introduced Audio Description as part of its activities to promote social inclusion for visually impaired people. Similarly, the Agadir International Festival of Cinema and Migration adopted the idea a few years later, screening one Moroccan audio-described film per year.
From these isolated efforts, a small but passionate group of AD professionals has emerged. They often come from backgrounds in journalism, sound design, or audiovisual translation, and they have developed their skills through these unique opportunities, often with the support of international professionals experienced in creating AD for film. As part of my research, I conducted interviews with these professionals to gather their insights on the past, present, and future of AD in Morocco.
Later in my research, I was able to move from speaking about visually impaired audiences to speaking with them directly. Through focus groups, I screened a film with different AD versions and listened to participants’ opinions, preferences, and ideas about accessibility. Their responses helped me understand not only how they experienced the film, but also how meaningful AD could be if it became available for Moroccan and local content on television and in cinemas. These conversations reminded me that accessibility is not only about applying a technique, it is about listening to the people who will use it and understanding what inclusion means from their perspective.
My PhD research, funded by the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies, is not only about exploring the current state of AD but also about advocating for its growth and integration into Moroccan media. Accessibility is a right, not a luxury, and I hope my work can contribute to a brighter future where every individual can enjoy and engage with the magic of film.