Added encoding optional parameter to subtitle file loading feature

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Support removed for Python versions 2.7, 3.4 & 3.5 [#1103, #1106]
 
 ### Added <!-- for new features -->
+- Optional `encoding` parameter in `SubtitlesClip` [#1043]
 
 ### Changed <!-- for changes in existing functionality -->
 

moviepy/video/tools/subtitles.py

@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ class SubtitlesClip(VideoClip):
 
     subtitles
       Either the name of a file, or a list
+    encoding
+      Optional, specifies srt file encoding.
+      Any standard Python encoding is allowed (listed at https://docs.python.org/3.8/library/codecs.html#standard-encodings)
 
     Examples
     =========
@@ -28,18 +31,19 @@ class SubtitlesClip(VideoClip):
     >>> from moviepy.video.io.VideoFileClip import VideoFileClip
     >>> generator = lambda txt: TextClip(txt, font='Georgia-Regular', fontsize=24, color='white')
     >>> sub = SubtitlesClip("subtitles.srt", generator)
+    >>> sub = SubtitlesClip("subtitles.srt", generator, encoding='utf-8')
     >>> myvideo = VideoFileClip("myvideo.avi")
     >>> final = CompositeVideoClip([clip, subtitles])
     >>> final.write_videofile("final.mp4", fps=myvideo.fps)
 
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, subtitles, make_textclip=None):
+    def __init__(self, subtitles, make_textclip=None, encoding=None):
 
         VideoClip.__init__(self, has_constant_size=False)
 
         if isinstance(subtitles, str):
-            subtitles = file_to_subtitles(subtitles)
+            subtitles = file_to_subtitles(subtitles, encoding=encoding)
 
         # subtitles = [(map(cvsecs, tt),txt) for tt, txt in subtitles]
         self.subtitles = subtitles
@@ -144,18 +148,19 @@ def write_srt(self, filename):
             f.write(str(self))
 
 
-def file_to_subtitles(filename):
+def file_to_subtitles(filename, encoding=None):
     """ Converts a srt file into subtitles.
 
     The returned list is of the form ``[((ta,tb),'some text'),...]``
     and can be fed to SubtitlesClip.
 
     Only works for '.srt' format for the moment.
     """
+
     times_texts = []
     current_times = None
     current_text = ""
-    with open(filename, "r") as f:
+    with open(filename, "r", encoding=encoding) as f:
         for line in f:
             times = re.findall("([0-9]*:[0-9]*:[0-9]*,[0-9]*)", line)
             if times: