Community Commitment
Our spaces and events encourage the open exchange of ideas anchored in mutual respect.
We are committed to freedom of creative expression while simultaneously lifting up anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-discriminatory practices at all VTIFF events and activities.
We ask that everyone in the VTIFF community—filmmakers, audiences, volunteers, press, industry, staff, and beyond—does their part in creating an environment that is welcoming to all in the following ways:
- By being inclusive and respectful of people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity/expression, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, age, physical appearance and body size, language spoken, and immigration or economic status
- By abstaining from hate speech or actions of any kind
- By being mindful of the personal space and boundaries of others by avoiding unwelcome sexual attention, harassment, stalking, and inappropriate physical contact of any kind
- By being respectful of moderators, filmmakers and audience members by refraining from sustained disruption of screenings, sessions, talks, or other events
- By not engaging in abuse or intimidation including that related to race, gender, position, or wealth,
VTIFF Content Policy
VTIFF is dedicated to providing access to film art that is typically not found at mainstream cinemas. Although most of our films do appeal to a wide audience, we often show works with content that, depending on personal preferences and life experience, a film-goer may find objectionable, offensive, shocking, or distressing. Our staff has had frequent discussions over whether to place a warning on a particular film beyond the standard MPAA rating (PG, PG-13, R, with content notes like “graphic violence,” “strong language,” etc.). These ratings contain brief content descriptions which, though general, provide information about the content of a film and are mainly intended as parental guides about the film’s suitability for children.
We are sensitive to the fact that some subject matter in a film may not be for every audience, and that many people find specific content distressing. We want to make sure people have all the information they need to enjoy a movie at the cinema.
However, we are cautious about creating specific warnings for a particular film for a number of reasons:
VTIFF’s staff is not able to predict what subject matter or event would be found to be objectionable or distressing by a film-goer, so creating such a list would likely be inaccurate and incomplete.
We are not qualified experts in identifying events that could cause distress to a particular person, so do not want to make a mistake in creating a list of warnings for each film that is not comprehensive. If we choose to warn the public about one aspect of a film, but miss another that may be upsetting to a different film-goer, we run the risk of having unhappy customers.
Reliance on outside sources to print warnings for a screening could also be incomplete or inaccurate, as there is no set standard for content warnings (other than MPAA ratings), and online resources vary in format and identification of subject matter.
With respect to unrated films at our screenings, we use the program description as a guide to content. If you are concerned about content, please research a film before attending. Most reviews contain some indication of how challenging or distressing a film might be.
VTIFF thanks you for your continued support.