Fantastic news for BSL users and accessibility advocates — Sky Cinema has just confirmed its first British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted film of 2025: Anora. This is a major step forward in Sky's ongoing commitment to accessible content, and it was officially announced just hours ago by Francesca Bussey from Sky’s Access Services team. You can view the LinkedIn confirmation here for full transparency:
🔗 LinkedIn – Francesca Bussey announces Anora with BSL
The film will be broadcast tonight (Friday) at 22:05 on Sky Cinema Drama/Romance — that’s Sky channel 310, BT (EE) channel 524, and Virgin 410. If you’re not able to watch live, the BSL version is already available via Sky’s video-on-demand service. Just search for Anora and make sure to select the version clearly labelled “(SIGNED)”.
For anyone not familiar with Anora, it’s a new release directed by Sean Baker, and it recently won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. It stars Mikey Madison, who delivers a stunning performance as a sex worker in Brooklyn who impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. The story quickly spirals into emotional, political, and personal drama as his wealthy family steps in to annul the union. It’s a gritty, stylish, and very timely film that many have been excited to see — and now, thanks to this newly interpreted version, the BSL community can be part of that conversation too.
This is particularly meaningful because sign-interpreted films on Sky Cinema have historically been limited in number and visibility. The fact that Anora is being given BSL access — and with on-screen promotion, no less — sets a strong precedent. It shows Sky's growing effort to align film access with other mainstream content, where subtitles and audio description have long been more routinely supported.
Credit must go to both Francesca Bussey and the team at Red Bee Media, who are working behind the scenes to expand this provision. While there’s still a long road ahead in achieving parity across all premium content, this is a really encouraging step in the right direction. It’s also worth noting how important it is for these films to be promoted clearly in advance — and with visible labelling across the EPG, VOD menus, and online platforms.
Hopefully this is the start of a more consistent rollout of sign-interpreted films across Sky Cinema’s catalogue. BSL users deserve equal access to the full range of entertainment options — not just public service broadcasters — and it’s great to see Sky taking this seriously.
If you do tune in, feel free to share your experience here. It’ll help reinforce the demand for more BSL-interpreted movies going forward.
Thanks again to the Access Services team at Sky for making this happen — and fingers crossed this becomes a regular fixture in the Sky Cinema schedule!
