AbilityFEST- India International Disability Film Festival – is the country’s leading film festival focused on the rights and empowerment of persons with disabilities, for creating a truly inclusive society. The festival, in its eighth edition, showcasing films from across the world is being held from September 9 to 12 at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai.

As part of the festival, an audio-descriptive show of the 2019 Tamil film Viswasam, directed by Siva, and starring Ajith Kumar and Nayanthara, is being screened at Satyam Cinemas. While the film's normal soundtrack will come through the speakers in the cinema hall, a pre-recorded narrative will explain what is happening onscreen during the gaps in dialogues which blind people can hear through personal headphones.

According to Jayashree Raveendran, chairperson of the festival, AbilityFEST will showcase upbeat cinema by, with and about people with disabilities, and provides a veritable feast of sensitive, thought-provoking films from all around the world. "Short films, documentaries, and feature-length films, never seen before films, subtitled films, audio-described films, accessible cinema hall – there’s something for everyone here. This year, we also have a special selection of films from the Superfest Disability Film Festival in California, which is the longest-running film festival of its kind in the world. We've ensured ramps outside the entrances for better access, captions, and more recently audio descriptions,” she said. 

Critically-acclaimed films like Ian, a moving story, Sunflower Inn, Inclinations, The Silent Child and Chuskit are also being screened as a part of the festival.