Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Hex After Dark Film Festival, operating through the domain hexafterdark.lol and related services, collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards personal information obtained from visitors, ticket purchasers, filmmakers, sponsors, and all individuals who interact with our platform and in-person events. The organization known as Hex After Dark (Hex After Dark, we, us, or our), with its principal place of business at 229 18 Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 1N3, Canada, is committed to protecting the privacy rights of every individual whose data we process.

This policy applies to all information collected through our website at https://www.hexafterdark.lol, our mobile-optimized web experiences, email communications, ticketing platforms integrated with our services, social media channels managed by Hex After Dark, and any in-person data collection that occurs during the festival and associated events. By accessing our services, attending our events, or otherwise providing information to us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the practices described in this document.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you interact with Hex After Dark, you may voluntarily provide certain categories of personal information. This includes, but is not limited to, contact identifiers such as your full name, email address, mailing address, and telephone number when you register for festival updates, purchase tickets, or submit a film for consideration. If you are a filmmaker or industry professional submitting work to our festival, we may collect additional professional details including your portfolio URL, curriculum vitae, prior filmography, professional affiliations, and biographical information. When you make a purchase through our ticketing system, we collect transactional data including payment card details, billing address, and purchase history; however, full payment card numbers are processed exclusively by our PCI-compliant third-party payment processors and are never stored on our servers.

If you contact us directly via email at info@hexafterdark.lol, by telephone at +17693083351, or through any contact form on our website, we will collect the content of your message along with any attachments you choose to provide. Individuals who apply for volunteer positions, internships, or employment with the festival may additionally be asked to provide employment history, educational background, references, and relevant certifications.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website or use our digital services, certain technical information is collected automatically through standard internet protocols and technologies. This information includes your Internet Protocol (IP) address, the type and version of your browser software, your operating system and device type, the referring URL that directed you to our site, the pages you visit and the duration of your visit, the date and time stamps of your access, and coarse geographic location data derived from your IP address. We may also use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies to understand how visitors navigate our site and to improve the overall user experience.

Our website employs a limited set of cookies necessary for basic functionality, as well as optional analytics cookies that help us understand traffic patterns and user behavior. You may configure your browser to reject cookies or to alert you when cookies are being placed; however, certain features of our website may not function properly without cookies enabled. We do not currently respond to browser Do Not Track signals in a standardized manner, as no uniform industry standard for such responses has been widely adopted.

1.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party sources, including social media platforms when you interact with our content on those platforms, ticketing and event management partners that process transactions on our behalf, film submission platforms such as FilmFreeway or Withoutabox when you submit entries to our festival, and publicly available sources where relevant to our legitimate business interests. When we receive information from these sources, we treat it in accordance with this Privacy Policy and any additional restrictions imposed by the data source.

2. How We Use Your Information

2.1 Primary Purposes

Hex After Dark uses the personal information we collect for several core operational purposes directly related to the planning, execution, and promotion of the film festival. These purposes include processing ticket purchases, managing film submissions and the associated review and selection process, communicating with attendees about schedule changes, venue information, and festival updates, responding to inquiries and providing customer support, and fulfilling any other purpose for which you specifically provided the information.

2.2 Marketing and Communications

With your consent where required by applicable law, we may use your contact information to send you newsletters, promotional materials, and announcements about future editions of the festival, partner events, and related opportunities that we believe may be of interest to you. You may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link provided in every marketing email we send, by contacting us directly at info@hexafterdark.lol, or by updating your communication preferences through any preference center we make available. Please note that even if you opt out of marketing messages, we may still send you transactional or administrative communications related to your ticket purchases, film submissions, or other direct interactions with us.

2.3 Analytics and Improvement

We analyze the aggregated and de-identified data collected through our digital platforms to understand how visitors engage with our content, to identify areas for improvement in our website design and functionality, to measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns, and to make data-informed decisions about festival programming, venue logistics, and audience engagement strategies. This analysis is conducted at an aggregate level wherever possible, and we do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects concerning individuals.

3. Legal Bases for Processing

For individuals located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or other jurisdictions that require a specified legal basis for processing personal data, Hex After Dark relies on the following legal grounds: the performance of a contract when we process your data to fulfill a ticket purchase, film submission, or other agreement with you; our legitimate business interests in operating, promoting, and improving the festival when those interests are not overridden by your data protection rights; your consent, which you may withdraw at any time, for activities such as sending marketing communications or placing non-essential cookies; and compliance with legal obligations to which we are subject, including tax and accounting requirements under Canadian federal and Alberta provincial law.

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 Service Providers

We engage trusted third-party service providers to perform functions and process data on our behalf. These providers include payment processors that handle ticket transactions, cloud hosting and infrastructure providers that store our website and databases, email delivery services that send our communications, analytics providers that help us understand website traffic, and customer relationship management platforms that assist with attendee and filmmaker communications. Each service provider is contractually bound to process personal data only on our documented instructions, to implement appropriate security measures, and to comply with applicable data protection laws.

4.2 Legal Disclosure

We may disclose personal information if we determine in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to comply with a valid legal obligation, such as a subpoena, court order, or governmental request; to enforce our Terms of Service and other agreements; to protect the rights, property, or safety of Hex After Dark, our attendees, filmmakers, staff, or the public; or to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues. In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, personal information held by Hex After Dark may be among the assets transferred, and we will provide notice to affected individuals as required by applicable law.

4.3 Aggregate and De-Identified Data

We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify any individual with partners, sponsors, and the public for purposes including reporting on festival attendance, demographic trends, and the reach of our programming. This information does not constitute personal data under applicable privacy laws and is not subject to the restrictions in this policy.

5. Data Retention

Hex After Dark retains personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required to comply with applicable legal, tax, or accounting obligations. When determining the appropriate retention period, we consider the nature and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process the data and whether those purposes can be achieved through other means, and applicable legal requirements. Ticket purchase records and associated financial data are generally retained for a minimum of seven years to comply with Canadian tax regulations administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. Film submission materials, including filmmaker contact information, are retained for the duration of the festival cycle and for a reasonable period thereafter to facilitate communication about future festival opportunities. Contact information used for marketing purposes is retained until you withdraw your consent or unsubscribe. When personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymize it in accordance with our data disposal procedures.

6. Data Security

Hex After Dark implements appropriate technical and organizational measures designed to protect the personal information we process against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, or access. These measures include the use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption for data transmitted between your browser and our servers, secure hosting infrastructure with access controls and monitoring, regular security assessments and vulnerability testing of our digital platforms, employee training on data protection principles and secure handling practices, and contractual requirements that our service providers maintain equivalent security standards. However, no method of electronic storage or transmission over the Internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify affected individuals and relevant supervisory authorities as required by applicable law.

7. International Data Transfers

Hex After Dark is based in Canada, and the personal information we collect is primarily processed and stored on servers located in Canada. However, certain service providers we use may process data in other jurisdictions, including the United States and countries within the European Union. When we transfer personal data across international borders, we implement appropriate safeguards in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the use of Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the relevant regulatory authorities, conducting transfer impact assessments, and relying on adequacy decisions where applicable. By providing your information to us, you acknowledge that your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your country of residence, which may have data protection laws that differ from those in your jurisdiction.

8. Your Rights and Choices

8.1 Access and Correction

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to request that any inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected. To exercise this right, please contact us using the details provided in the Contact Information section below. We will respond to your request within the timeframe required by applicable law, typically within thirty days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request and may, in limited circumstances, deny access where permitted or required by law.

8.2 Deletion and Restriction

In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we delete your personal information or restrict its processing. These circumstances include situations where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, where you have withdrawn your consent and there is no other legal basis for processing, or where you have objected to processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds. We will evaluate each request on its merits and respond in accordance with applicable law, noting that we may retain certain information where required for legal compliance, the establishment or defense of legal claims, or other legitimate purposes recognized by law.

8.3 Data Portability

Where processing is based on your consent or the performance of a contract and is carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that data to another controller without hindrance from us.

8.4 Marketing Opt-Out

You may opt out of receiving promotional communications from us at any time using the unsubscribe mechanism included in each marketing email, by contacting us directly, or by adjusting your communication preferences through any available preference center. Opt-out requests are typically processed within ten business days. As noted above, opting out of marketing does not affect our ability to send you transactional communications related to your ongoing relationship with us.

8.5 Complaint to Supervisory Authority

If you believe that our processing of your personal information violates applicable data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority. In Canada, this is the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, located at 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 1H3. Residents of Alberta may also contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta. If you are located in the European Union, you may contact the data protection authority in your member state of residence.

9. Children's Privacy

Hex After Dark does not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under the age of thirteen without verifiable parental consent. Our website and services are directed at a general audience and are not intended for children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under thirteen without appropriate consent, we will take prompt steps to delete that information from our systems. If you believe that a child under thirteen has provided personal information to us, please contact us immediately so that we can take appropriate action. For festival events open to all ages, parents and guardians are responsible for supervising their children and providing any necessary consent for their participation.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Hex After Dark reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our data practices, legal obligations, or operational requirements. When we make material changes, we will provide notice through our website, by email to individuals who have provided their contact information, or through other reasonable means. The date at the top of this page indicates when this policy was last revised. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your privacy. Your continued use of our services after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

11. Cookie Policy

11.1 What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently and to provide information to the site operators. Cookies may be session-based (deleted when you close your browser) or persistent (remaining on your device for a set period or until you delete them).

11.2 Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the core functionality of our website. They enable basic features such as page navigation, secure access to protected areas, and load balancing. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and they do not require your consent under most applicable laws.

Analytics Cookies: These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. We use this data to improve site performance, identify popular content, and optimize the user experience. We may use tools such as Google Analytics or similar services for this purpose.

Functional Cookies: These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalization, such as remembering your language preferences or the region you are in. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have integrated into our pages.

11.3 Managing Cookies

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically configure your browser to block all cookies, accept only first-party cookies, or delete cookies when you close your browser. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality and features available on our website. For more detailed information about managing cookies, consult the help documentation for your specific browser or visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us using any of the methods listed above. We take all privacy inquiries seriously and will endeavor to respond within a reasonable timeframe, typically within five to ten business days for general inquiries and within thirty days for formal data subject requests. For urgent privacy matters, we recommend contacting us by email to ensure the fastest possible response.

This privacy policy has been developed by Hex After Dark to clearly communicate our commitment to transparency and data protection. The organization values the trust that our attendees, filmmakers, partners, and community members place in us, and we continuously strive to maintain the highest standards of privacy and security in all of our operations.

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