ILKLEY Cinema is to screen its first film with subtitles after working with partially deaf journalist and filmmaker Charlie Swinbourne.

Charlie, of Ilkley, grew up in a deaf family who used used subtitles whenever they were watching TV, and thinks it helped him to become a scriptwriter because he was always very aware of exactly what people were saying.

He has previously written about the difficulty of seeing new releases at the cinema with subtitles.

Now, after his input, Ilkley Cinema will screen the film Youth with subtitles at 8.15pm on March 2. The film stars Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel and tells the story of a retired orchestra conductor who is on holiday with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday.

The cinema says there are very few opportunities to watch cinema films with subtitles in the Leeds and Bradford area and hopes local people who enjoy watching films with subtitles will support the initiative so it can happen on a regular basis.

Before the screening of Youth, an award-winning short film made by Charlie called The Kiss will be screened. The film, which features a deaf couple who play a joke on another couple in a cafe, was premiered at the Bradford International Film Festival in 2014 and won best film later that year in Spain at the Basque Region International Sign Language Film Festival.

Charlie, who used to work in arts access for disabled people, including Stagetext, a charity providing captions in theatre performances, said: "It's hard for people to understand what it feels like to miss out on new releases at the cinema or the latest plays, because you can't hear the dialogue. I can hear about 70 per cent of what's being said, but I find that often the bits I miss contain crucial plot information or the funniest jokes, which is incredibly frustrating.

"It's not only people with some level of deafness who benefit from subtitles. A lot of people struggle with background music in films, and I know foreign people who use English as a second language who prefer having subtitles to follow what's going on. I also know people who just feel more relaxed with subtitles.

"Deafness can make people feel isolated because it makes it harder to communicate, so it's very important that everyone can access the arts, so they can engage with the stories and events everyone else is talking about, and feel part of their community.

"Ilkley Cinema has been so positive about this from the start, and I really hope that this will lead to regular subtitled screenings so that everyone in the community. It's amazing that a small, new venue has been so forward-thinking, and I'd like to thank Jack and the team for their support. They've been brilliant."