News
BFI Southbank Rolls Out WatchWord Closed-Captioning Glasses after Two Years of Festival Use
September 10th, 2025
WatchWord at BFI Southbank
At the BFI on London’s Southbank, audiences are now experiencing cinema in a new way.
After successfully using WatchWord at the London Film Festival in both 2023 and 2024, the BFI has now introduced our smart glasses into its regular programme of closed-captioned screenings. For Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, that means captions for dialogue and non-dialogue audio delivered directly into the line of sight, without the need to look away from the screen.
The rollout is part of the BFI’s wider commitment to inclusive cinema. Alongside open captioned screenings, audio description, BSL-interpreted events and relaxed screenings, WatchWord now offers a seamless, personal option that helps make film at the BFI accessible to more people than ever before.
For us, it’s a proud moment. Watching stories unfold should be for everyone, and seeing one of the UK’s most significant cultural film institutions choose WatchWord year after year — first for the festival, now as part of its ongoing programme — is a milestone worth sharing.
Find out more about BFI Southbank’s accessible screenings here:
https://whatson.bfi.org.uk
QUAD Derby Trials Innovative WatchWord Software for Live Theatre Broadcast of Macbeth
February 10th 2025
QUAD Derby Trials WatchWord Smart Glasses for Live Macbeth Broadcast
Audiences at QUAD in Derby are experiencing a breakthrough in accessible theatre with the trial of WatchWord, an innovative subtitling solution for filmed productions. During the Donmar Warehouse’s broadcast of Macbeth, starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, WatchWord provides real-time captions via smart glasses, enhancing accessibility without disrupting the cinematic experience.
Funded by Innovate UK and developed by Epicyclism in collaboration with Built For Good Technology Ltd., WatchWord tackles a major challenge in event cinema: the lack of a pre-prepared caption track. Unlike general release films, live and filmed broadcasts don’t come with built-in subtitles, making accessibility more complex. WatchWord solves this by listening to dialogue and synchronising captions in real time, delivering them directly to smart glasses.
“This is an exciting step forward in making live theatre more inclusive,” said Tabitha Allum, spokesperson for Built For Good Technology Ltd. “WatchWord allows us to bridge the accessibility gap in event cinema, ensuring audiences who rely on captions can fully enjoy live performances.”
QUAD is offering ten pairs of smart glasses per screening for Macbeth on Sunday 9th and Thursday 13th of February. Users will receive a complimentary ticket in exchange for providing feedback on their experience. To book, contact us here.
For more details and bookings, visit: QUAD Macbeth event page.