Access Information
Venues
In addition to this guide, the two venues have their own detailed accessibility guides on their websites:
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Hyde Park Picture House: https://hpph.co.uk/access
If you have any specific needs you would like to discuss, please email us on leedqueerfilmfestival@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram.
D/deaf accessibility
All films will be screened with English subtitles and a few will have subtitles and captions.
BSL interpretation available on request - please get in touch by 12 March to discuss. leedsqueerfilmfestival@gmail.com
Infection safety
HEART is a shared space; LQFF has some control over the rooms we are using for the festival, but not the common areas around reception or the cafe. For our spaces, we will be taking the following actions to try and make the event safer:
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Opening windows during breaks, for added circulation
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Air quality monitors in the Shire Oak and Claremont rooms
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All screenings in the Claremont Room on Friday 21 March will be MASK MANDATORY (FFP2 or higher). We can provide a free mask if you need one.
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Masking will be optional for the rest of the festival.
If you prefer to come to screenings that are less crowded, these tend to be the early screenings on each day.
There is quite a lot of outdoor space at Heart, so we'll be hoping for good weather to get some fresh air in between films!
Please don’t come to the festival if you have any viral symptoms, even if you’re testing negative for COVID. Take a lateral flow test before attending if you can. A supply of free LFTs and FFP2 masks will be available. If you need to leave due to testing positive, we will refund your ticket.
Parking/transport
There are 4 dedicated blue-badge parking spaces on-site, with an additional 8 parking spaces, as well as bike racks. There is enough room for a taxi to drop off, as well as unload a wheelchair. There is additional parking at the Headingley Taps (charges may apply).
If you need assistance getting home, including with taxi fares, please let us know at the festival.
Quiet space
The Beckett room at HEART will be a quieter space. Please use this room as needed, and keep conversations limited to hushed tones while you are there.
Badges
We’ll have blank stickers and markers so you can tell people about how you would or wouldn’t like to interact. For example:
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“Solo LQFFer; say hi to me!”
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“Social battery: low”
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“No hugs please; I’ll take a wave instead!”
Ramadan
If you are observing Ramadan and would also like to attend LQFF, please email us on leedsqueerfilmfestival@gmail.com to let us know what might help make it easier for you to do so.
The Newport Room can be made available as a prayer space. Please ask LQFF staff if you would like to use it.
Seating
A range of seating is available in the screening room – chairs & a few bean bags, with cushions available. If you need to enter the screening room first or need a particular place in the room (including an aisle seat so you can easily exit), please let an organiser know.
This is what most of the chairs look like:
44cm wide, 47cm high
44cm wide, 50cm high
43cm wide, 47cm high
Toilets
There are accessible toilets on each floor. There is a Changing Places toilet (with a hoist and changing bench) on the ground floor. Baby-changing facilities are available. LQFF and HEART will ensure that during the festival all toilets will be gender-neutral.
Visually impaired accessibility
The film schedule is also available in large print format. Please contact us for a copy.
Wheelchair accessibility
Both venues are wheelchair accessible, but the automatic front door at HEART is somewhat temperamental. There will always be a staff member or volunteer available on-site to help open this door.
The narrowest doors at the festival are the doors to Shire Oak Hall, which are 78cm wide. The corridor where you need to turn to enter the hall is 110cm wide.
A lift is available to access the Claremont Room. This has a 95cm door with a 0.5cm lip. The lift requires a key to use so please ask one of the LQFF team.
Sensory environment
The carpet in the corridors is plain grey, and the Shire Oak floor is pale wood floorboards. The Claremont room has a grey striped carpet (pictured below). The hall lights are warm white, with lampshades around the sides but not covering the whole bulb. Lights will be switched off during screenings.
Content notes
Our printed programme has detailed content notes for all films. We are always trying to improve the detail we provide, so please feel free to let us know if we missed something!
Please note that “sex” on its own only refers to consensual sex. Coercion or violation of consent is noted separately and specifically.
If you have any concerns about a specific film, please get in touch with us and we can try to give more detailed guidance.
Food
All food provided by LQFF (available in the Buckingham room) is vegan and nut free. Gluten free sweet snacks (packaged separately) will be available. You can bring your own food if you need to, but it must be consumed in the film festival rooms only (not the HEART cafe.)
If you are eating food from the cafe, please speak to HEART cafe staff about allergies or dietary needs.
What we’re working on
Thank you so much to everyone who responded to our accessibility survey (which is still open!), or has raised accessibility concerns with us through other channels. We’ve tried to address as many things as we can for this year’s festival, but there are some things we’re still working on, including:
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Options for remote viewing
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Guidance for attendees on disability justice/access
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More detailed content warnings, including films with any flashing images (currently we only have warnings for strobe lighting)