Festival and Conference Accessibility
Austin Film Festival strives to be accessible to all patrons of the arts. Austin Film Festival offers certain accommodations to patrons with disabilities.
Accommodations must be requested 10 days in advance of the event(s) you wish to attend. To request accommodation please contact accessibility@austinfilmfestival.com or call (512) 478-4795. Contact the same with any questions or concerns regarding accessibility accommodations.
Festival attendees who request accommodations are required to confirm their attendance in writing 24 hours in advance of the start time of the event. Confirmations must be sent to accessibility@austinfilmfestival.com.
PATRONS WHO ARE HEARING IMPAIRED
Austin Film Festival will provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at select Conference panels. The online festival schedule on our website austinfilmfestival.com will be regularly updated to indicate which events will have interpreters present.
Limited ASL interpreters can be made available during film screenings and Q&As upon request.
Select screenings will have the option to be played with on-screen subtitles in English or closed captions. Austin Film Festival’s online festival schedule will note the accessibility options available at each of the festival’s events. To request closed-captioning devices at select venues or to have subtitles made available, please email accessibility@austinfilmfestival.com at least 10 days prior to the screening you wish to attend. Attendance must be confirmed in writing again 24 hours in advance of the screening start time.
All festival attendees are required to abide by Austin Film Festivals line policies. In order to ensure that all guests have a seat, we suggest arriving at the venue and checking in with a member of the AFF team or box office staff at least an hour before the event is scheduled to start. Your arrival time will establish your place in line. All attendees must follow our stated line policy.
PATRONS WITH SENSORY SENSITIVITY
Email accessibility@austinfilmfestival.com with your request for more information.
SERVICE ANIMAL POLICY
Service animals will be permitted in all areas of the Austin Film Festival that are open to the public in accordance with venue policies, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other applicable federal and state laws and regulations prohibiting the discrimination on the basis of a person’s disability.
LINE POLICIES
BADGE HOLDER – Conference
If you are a Festival Badgeholder, you will be accommodated on a first come, first served basis in regard to AFF’s established Conference Admission Policy. When you arrive at a conference venue, please check in with the Room Manager on duty. You may receive a numbered queue card and the Room Manager will provide seating for you in a holding area. If you have an aide who provides you assistance, they must have the same level of Festival access as you. If your aide has a Badge, they can wait in the badge line and hold your numbered queue card for you. If you need continual access to your aide, they will be permitted to wait in the holding area with you. When the doors are opened to allow patrons in, you may enter the room/venue. If your aide is outside, they will have to wait and enter in order according to their numbered queue card.
BADGE HOLDER – Film
If you are a Festival Badgeholder, you will be accommodated on a first come, first served basis in regard to AFF’s established Film Admission Policy. When you arrive at a film venue, please check in with the Theater Manager, Box office staff or Austin Film Festival volunteer on duty. You can receive a numbered queue card and will be allowed to wait in the lobby of the venue. If you have an aide who provides you assistance, they must have the same level of festival access as you, whether it be a Badge or a Film Pass. If your aide has a Badge, they can wait in the badge line and hold your numbered queue card for you. If you need continual access to your aide, they will be permitted to wait in the lobby with you. When the theater doors are opened to allow patrons in, you may enter the venue. If your aide is outside, they will have to wait and enter in order according to their numbered queue card.
FILM PASS HOLDER
If you are a Film Pass holder, AFF cannot guarantee entry into a screening due to the priority access given to AFF’s Festival Badge holders. When you arrive at a film venue, please check in with the Theater Manager, Box office staff or Austin Film Festival volunteer on duty and inform him/her that you are a Film Pass holder. The manager should be able to tell you at that time if you have a realistic chance of getting into the screening. If there is, you will be allowed to wait inside the lobby. If numbered queue cards are still available (after being distributed to the Badge line) for guests in the Film Pass line, you will be issued a numbered queue card on a first come, first served basis while Badge holders are being let in. If you have an aide with you who also has a film pass, they must remain in the film pass line and can hold your numbered queue card. If you require continual access to your aide, they will be permitted to wait in the lobby with you. Once all Badge holders have been seated, you may enter the venue to take your seat. If you have an aide in the Film Pass line outside, they will have to wait and enter in order according to their numbered queue card.
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET
If there is still available seating after Badge and Film Pass lines have entered the theater, general admission tickets will be sold at the merchandise table or box office. Please be aware that, there is absolutely NO guarantee that general admission tickets will be available for a particular film, no matter how early you may arrive at a venue. When you arrive at a film venue, please check in with the Theater Manager, Box office staff or Austin Film Festival volunteer on duty. The manager should be able to tell you if there is a realistic chance of getting into the screening. If the venue reaches capacity with Badge and Film Pass holders, there will not be any general admission tickets sold for the screening. If tickets are being sold and you wish to purchase general admission tickets, someone (either you or your aide) will be given a queue card and will have to wait in the general admission line to purchase a tickets, and then you may enter the theater.
WHAT AFF DOES NOT PROVIDE
- Connection to sound boards.
- Personal or individually prescribed devices, such as wheelchairs, prescription eyeglasses or hearing-aids.
- Personal aids or interpreters for individual attendees.
- Services of a personal nature, such as assistance in eating, toileting or dressing.
- We do not provide transportation to all events. Certain events which may have a shuttle will have accessible seating.
If you have any further questions about accessibility options at Austin Film Festival, please contact accessibility@austinfilmfestival.com.