Scope

This Policy applies when you join or renew a membership, donate, subscribe for news, volunteer, register for an event or program, submit a film, apply for a partnership, or contact IDFA through our website or online forms.

This Policy does not govern a third party’s independent website, platform, payment page, social-media service, or other service. Those services are governed by their own privacy notices.

Information We Collect

Information you provide

Depending on how you interact with IDFA, we may collect:

• Your name, email address, telephone number, and mailing address.

• Membership details, renewal history, and digital membership information.

• Donation details, transaction records, donation designations, and communication preferences.

• Newsletter subscriptions and email preferences.

• Volunteer, partnership, event, festival, award, and program application information.

• Film titles, credits, biographies, project descriptions, submission materials, and related correspondence.

• Professional, artistic, organizational, or affiliation information.

• Questions, requests, feedback, and other information you send to us.

Access and communication preferences

You may tell us your preferred communication method, sign-language or captioning preferences, access needs, or requested accommodations. We use this information only to support your communication and participation and ask that you provide only what is reasonably needed for those purposes.

Information collected automatically

When you use the website, IDFA and its website service providers may automatically receive technical information such as your Internet Protocol address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring page, pages viewed, approximate location derived from an IP address, and the date and time of access. This information may be recorded in server logs or collected through cookies and similar technologies.

Information received from service providers or partners

We may receive information from providers that help us process payments, manage memberships, distribute newsletters, administer events, collect applications or submissions, host the website, provide analytics, or protect the website from fraud and misuse. We may also receive information from a partner organization when you authorize the partner to send it to IDFA.

Cookies and Online Technologies

The website may use cookies and similar technologies for essential website functions, security, remembering preferences, understanding website traffic, and supporting embedded content. Depending on the website features in use, these technologies may include:

• Necessary technologies required for security and core website functions.
• Preference technologies that remember settings and consent choices.
• Analytics technologies that help us understand website use, if enabled.
• Embedded-content technologies used by video, mapping, social-media, or other external services, if enabled.

When IDFA’s Avada privacy consent tools are enabled, the website uses a first-party cookie named privacy_embeds to remember your consent preferences for third-party embeds and tracking technologies. The cookie is retained for the period configured in the website’s privacy consent settings.

Where required, non-essential technologies are not activated until you make a choice. You can accept, reject, or change available choices through the website’s cookie preference tool. You can also control cookies through your browser, although blocking necessary cookies may affect website operation.

Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” signal. The website does not currently respond automatically to that signal. Please use the cookie preference tool for the choices currently available on this website.

If analytics or third-party embedded content is enabled, those providers may collect information about your activity over time and across different websites, subject to your consent choices, the provider’s technology, and the provider’s privacy notice.

Donations and Payments

A third-party payment provider may process online donations, membership payments, event fees, and other transactions. The provider may collect payment-card, bank-account, billing, and fraud-prevention information directly under its own privacy notice. IDFA may receive transaction information such as the payer or donor name, contact details, amount, date, status, transaction identifier, and donation designation.

Donor privacy is important to IDFA. We do not sell or rent donor information for another organization’s marketing. We may use and disclose donor and transaction information to process the donation, issue acknowledgments, maintain financial and tax records, prevent fraud, comply with law, and communicate with the donor as permitted.

How We Share Information

This Privacy Policy explains when IDFA may share personal information, and does not disclose personal information to third parties for another organization’s marketing without the individual’s direction or consent. We may disclose information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: organizations that help IDFA operate its website and programs by providing hosting, security, payment processing, email delivery, membership administration, forms, event or ticketing services, film-submission services, analytics, accessibility, or technical support.
• Professional advisers: accountants, auditors, attorneys, insurers, and other advisers who need the information to provide services to IDFA.
• Legal and safety purposes: government authorities or other parties when reasonably necessary to comply with law or valid legal process, investigate fraud or misuse, enforce agreements, or protect people, property, rights, and security.
• Nonprofit organizational changes: an appropriate successor or partner in connection with a merger, reorganization, transfer of a program or assets, or dissolution, subject to appropriate protections.
• With your direction or consent: when you ask or authorize us to share information.

Film Submissions, Programs, and Publicity

Film and program submissions may contain creative work, professional information, and personal information. IDFA may use those materials to evaluate eligibility, select participants, administer festivals or awards, communicate with applicants, and maintain appropriate organizational records. Private submission materials, including screeners, may be made available to authorized IDFA staff, reviewers, jurors, selection committees, and service providers involved in review and program administration, except as otherwise described in this Policy.

For selected or featured work, IDFA may use information submitted for public use or otherwise authorized by the participant, including names, professional biographies, film titles, credits, synopses, stills, trailers, captions, and event details, to present and promote the program. Do not submit personal information about another person unless you have authority to provide it for the stated purpose.

Newsletters and Other Communications

IDFA may send administrative or transactional messages concerning a membership, donation, registration, application, submission, or other interaction. Where permitted, we may also send newsletters, fundraising communications, and festival or program updates.

You may unsubscribe from optional newsletters and fundraising updates by using the unsubscribe link in the message or contacting IDFA. Unsubscribing will not prevent necessary administrative or transactional communications.

Data Retention

Retention periods vary by category and purpose. We consider the purpose of collection, the type of record, the status of a membership or program, applicable limitation periods, contractual obligations, and legal requirements when determining retention.

Newsletter subscription information is generally retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, subject to a limited suppression record used to honor the request. Financial and donation records may be retained for legally required accounting and tax periods. To help preserve the history of Deaf film and IDFA’s programs, we may keep public festival programs, selected-film credits, event records, and other mission-related archival materials. Private applications and submission materials are not automatically treated as permanent archive records.

When information is no longer required, IDFA will take reasonable steps to delete, de-identify, or securely dispose of it.

International Processing

Because IDFA works with filmmakers, members, donors, volunteers, and audiences around the world, personal information may be handled in the United States and in countries where our service providers operate. Those countries may have privacy laws that differ from the laws where you live. Where required by applicable law, IDFA will address international transfers as that law requires.

Your Privacy Rights and Choices

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights concerning your personal information. You may contact IDFA to request that we:

• Provide access to certain personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Delete personal information, subject to applicable exceptions.
• Restrict or object to certain processing.
• Provide a copy of eligible information in a usable format.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

You may also unsubscribe from optional newsletters and fundraising updates and manage available cookie choices as described above. IDFA may need to verify your identity and request before responding. We may retain information when required or permitted for legal, financial, security, recordkeeping, or other purposes permitted by applicable law.

If applicable law gives you the right to complain to a privacy or data-protection authority, you may contact the authority for the place where you live or work.

Under Children’s Privacy

The general IDFA website is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13 through the general website. If we learn that we have done so, we will take reasonable steps to delete the information. Please contact us if you believe a child has provided personal information through the website.

If IDFA offers a youth program or submission category, the related form will explain what information is collected and any parent or guardian authorization required.

Third-Party Websites and Services

The website may link to or embed services operated by other organizations, including payment pages, ticketing or event services, film-submission platforms, video players, maps, and social-media services. A third party may collect information when you visit, activate, or use its service. Review the third party’s privacy notice before providing information. This Policy does not describe an independent third party’s privacy practices; please review that third party’s privacy notice.

Changes to This Policy

IDFA may update this Policy to reflect changes in its activities, website, service providers, or legal obligations. The revised Policy will be posted on this page with a new effective or last-updated date. When appropriate, IDFA may provide an additional notice of a material change.

Contact IDFA

IDFA welcomes privacy questions and requests for accessible communication. To exercise an applicable privacy right or report a concern, please contact us. If you need an accessible way to make a privacy request, tell us the communication method you prefer.