1. Information We Collect

a) Personal Information

• Name

• Email address

• Phone number

• Country of residence

• Filmmaker / company details

• Any information submitted via forms, submissions, or email communication

b) Submission Information

• Film titles, descriptions, credits

• Screener links or uploaded files

• Posters, trailers, stills

• Technical and production details

c) Website Usage Data

• IP address

• Browser type

• Pages visited

• Cookies or basic analytics data

This data helps us understand how visitors use our site and improve the festival experience.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information solely for festival-related purposes, including:

• Processing film submissions

• Communicating with filmmakers and partners

• Programming, jury review, and scheduling

• Festival updates, announcements, and newsletters

• Technical coordination for screenings

• Improving website performance and user experience

We do not use your data for unrelated commercial activities.

3. Submission Platforms & Third Parties

BCIFF may receive submission data through:

• Our direct submission portal

• FilmFreeway, if you choose to submit via that platform

We may also collaborate with partners such as online screening platforms (e.g., Open Theatre), but only with your explicit consent and only for festival-related screening purposes.

We do not sell or trade personal data to third parties.

4. COOKIES

This site uses cookies – small text files that are placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience. In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information for things like shopping carts, and provide anonymized tracking data to third party applications like Google Analytics. Cookies generally exist to make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. We suggest consulting the help section of your browser.

NECESSARY COOKIES (ALL SITE VISITORS)

• cfduid: Is used for our CDN CloudFlare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. See more information on privacy here: CloudFlare Privacy Policy.
• PHPSESSID: To identify your unique session on the website.

NECESSARY COOKIES (ADDITIONAL FOR LOGGED IN CUSTOMERS)

• wp-auth: Used by WordPress to authenticate logged-in visitors, password authentication and user verification.
• wordpress_logged_in_{hash}: Used by WordPress to authenticate logged-in visitors, password authentication and user verification.
• wordpress_test_cookie Used by WordPress to ensure cookies are working correctly.
• wp-settings-[UID]: WordPress sets a few wp-settings-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.
• wp-settings-[UID]:WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.

5. WHO HAS ACCESS TO YOUR DATA

If you are not a registered client for our site, there is no personal information we can retain or view regarding yourself.

If you are a client with a registered account, your personal information can be accessed by:

• Our system administrators.
• Our supporters when they (in order to provide support) need to get the information about the client accounts and access.

6. Data Storage & Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information against:

• Unauthorized access

• Loss or misuse

• Alteration or disclosure

While no online system is 100% secure, we follow standard industry practices to safeguard your data.

7. HOW LONG WE RETAIN YOUR DATA

When you submit a support ticket or a comment, its metadata is retained until (if) you tell us to remove it. We use this data so that we can recognize you and approve your comments automatically instead of holding them for moderation.

If you register on our website, we also store the personal information you provide in your user profile. You can see, edit, or delete your personal information at any time (except changing your username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

We retain personal and submission data only for as long as necessary to:

• Conduct the festival

• Meet legal or administrative requirements

• Maintain festival records and archives

You may request deletion of your personal data at any time, subject to legal obligations.

8. SECURITY MEASURES

We use the SSL/HTTPS protocol throughout our site. This encrypts our user communications with the servers so that personal identifiable information is not captured/hijacked by third parties without authorization.

In case of a data breach, system administrators will immediately take all needed steps to ensure system integrity, will contact affected users and will attempt to reset passwords if needed.

9. YOUR DATA RIGHTS

GENERAL RIGHTS

If you have a registered account on this website or have left comments, you can request an exported file of the personal data we retain, including any additional data you have provided to us.

You can also request that we erase any of the personal data we have stored. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. In short, we cannot erase data that is vital to you being an active customer (i.e. basic account information like an email address).

If you wish that all of your data is erased, we will no longer be able to offer any support or other product-related services to you.

You have the right to:

• Request access to your personal data

• Request correction of inaccurate information

• Request deletion of your data (where legally permissible)

• Opt out of non-essential communication

To exercise these rights, please contact us at the email address below.

10. Children’s Privacy

BCIFF does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.
If such data is discovered, it will be promptly deleted.

11. AMENDMENTS

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect legal, operational, or festival-related changes.
Updates will be posted on this page with a revised date.

For any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact:

📧 Email: info@baycityfestival.com
📍 Location: Mumbai, India

Final Note

Your trust matters to us. BCIFF exists to celebrate independent cinema — not to exploit personal data.