The Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) is a touring festival visiting venues across the US and presenting 50+ programs a year - in-person and virtually. We carefully vet, collaborate with, and coordinate the resources of our host institutions to accomplish the highest level of ADA compliance possible. For decades, the festival has partnered with institutions that prioritize accessibility. Each host must confirm its adherence to the Consortium's strict ADA requirements to qualify as a TEFF program venue.

TEFF is proud to announce that since 2024, all films included in the TEFF tour have provided closed captioning upon request. The festival staff works with each winning filmmaker to insure that captions are included for any film with dialog regardless of original language. Additionally, the TEFF website provides synopses of all films in its annual collection and archive, enabling patrons to preview descriptive content ahead of program presentations.

The Consortium also enhances accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. Digital TEFF program booklets from 2014 onward can be viewed on the festival’s website and enlarged for ease of reading. Large-print programs are made available to host venues upon request for in-person screenings, ensuring that patrons with vision loss can engage more fully with the festival's offerings.

Interactive engagement is another hallmark of TEFF’s accessibility efforts. Programs presented in-person by the Executive Director include personalized description and real-time audience Q&A’s, offering an enriched experience for individuals seeking an additional visual or auditory context. This practice reflects the festival’s dedication to inclusivity.

To further its ADA compliance goals, the Consortium has developed a "Host Organization Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA Compliance) Rider and Survey." This tool ensures that venues that cannot be visited by the director personally, meet full ADA compliance standards.

The Consortium exercises best practices to recruit persons with disabilities as volunteers and employees. Through the efforts of the Consortium’s ADA Compliance Committee, policies and procedures

are regularly reviewed, and the Consortium reinforces its identity as an inclusive arts organization. Our unwavering commitment to accessibility ensures that TEFF programs, whether virtual or in-person, are designed to be welcoming and inclusive for all audiences. Patrons are welcome to contact the festival director, Jane Steuerwald at:

Email: Jane@TEFilmFest.org, Office: +1 551.999.8225