Accessibility
Planning ahead
Reel Access Discount
The Reel Access discount is available to BIPOC individuals, students, seniors, under-waged patrons, and patrons living with disabilities. This discount is valid for both in-person and digital screenings during the 2025 Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, from May 23 to June 1. Use code IOREELACCESS25 at checkout to apply the discount.
ASL Interpreters / Open Captioning
All films at the Festival will include subtitles and open captioning for accessibility. ASL interpreters are available upon request, though we ask that you provide at least one week’s notice to ensure availability. Please email access@insideout.ca to book ASL.
Admissions for Support Persons
One support person accompanying a person with a disability will be allowed to enter Festival events and screenings free of charge, provided the main attendee has a ticket.
Service Animals
Guide dogs and service animals are welcome in all public spaces at TIFF Lightbox. Emotional support animals are also permitted, provided they have the necessary documentation.
Masking policy
While it’s not mandatory, we highly encourage everyone to wear masks in public spaces. Your health matters, and wearing a mask is a simple yet effective way to protect yourself and others.
Parking
“Pay and Display” parking is available underground in the TIFF Lightbox parkade. The entrance is off Widmer Street, which can be accessed from both Adelaide Street or King Street West.
Our 2025 festival program guide is available as an accessible PDF which is fully bookmarked and compatible with screen readers.
At the Festival
General Venue Accessibility
Our 2025 festival will be held at TIFF Lightbox, which features accessible entrances, seating, and restrooms. Accessible seating can be reserved in advance by emailing boxoffice@insideout.ca. The Inside Out team will be on-site throughout the festival to assist with navigation or any accessibility-related needs. For more information on accessibility at TIFF Lightbox, please visit TIFF’s Accessibility Page
Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Inside Out is committed to inclusivity. Gender-neutral bathrooms are available for all attendees at our festival venues.
Low Sensory Room
For those with sensory sensitivities, a “low sensory room” is available. This space offers a calming environment where individuals can de-stress and regulate their emotions. A temporary low sensory room will be open a half-hour before the first screening and close a half-hour after the last film begins. Located on the 4th floor, this space is called “The Lab” If you need assistance finding it, ask one of the on-site Inside Out staff members or volunteers.
Scent allergies and sensitivities
We encourage our patrons to refrain from wearing perfume, cologne and other scented products when visiting the theatres; however, we cannot guarantee a scent-free environment.
Film captioning
Inside Out is committed to ensuring accessibility by providing captioning or full subtitling for all films selected for the 2025 Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival. All in-person and online screenings will feature open captions or full subtitles. Additionally, ASL interpretation is available for in-person events upon request.
Please note: ASL interpretation requests must be submitted at least one week prior to the event date. For more details, see “Planning Ahead” above.
Further Resources: Industry-wide Projects to Increase Accessibility
We believe the experience of cinema should be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, identity, location, or economic status. We believe that 2SLGBTQ+ people should face no barriers in accessing the content created by and for them. Inside Out takes an active role reducing those barriers for our audiences and artists, because we see this as our responsibility as a presenter of the arts and an advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ people. We want everyone to feel safe, welcomed, and included at Inside Out.
Reel Access Project and Accessibility Resource Guide
Funded by the Toronto Arts Council, this 2019-2020 project brought together film festival representatives and disability activists/consultants to address obstacles to accessibility at film festivals in Toronto. The project held a well-attended Discovery Forum in May of 2019 to bring the discussion of accessibility to the foreground. A follow-up in-person forum planned for 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19 and replaced with an industry survey on accessibility improvements. The project also created an Accessibility Resource Guide for film festivals.
The Accessibility Resource Guide is part of the Investment Readiness Program funded by the Government of Canada’s SI/SF Strategy.
Creating a Culture of Accessibility
In 2020, with funding from the Investment Readiness Program of Employment and Social Development Canada, Inside Out initiated a project to investigate the feasibility of a central toolhouse to provide accessibility supports, equipment and services to event producers in Toronto with the aim to increase overall accessibility.
When the toolhouse was deemed not currently feasible, the project dug deeper to look at what kind of change was needed for accessibility to be prioritized throughout the culture of an organization. The result is a useful report of case studies on organizational transition that can lead to a “culture of accessibility” in all organizational operations.
Download the Accessibility Resource Guide for film festivals, produced by The Reel Access Project.