Some of this isn’t “frequently” asked… some of this has NEVER been asked! But it’s stuff we thought you might wanna know. We help you, you come see movies… It’s a decent-enough system. We like it.

The festival lasts for four days: Thursday, November 3 through Sunday, November 6. We program evenings on the weekdays, and full days on the weekends.

• Thursday: after 5pm ‘til late

• Friday: after 5pm ‘til late.

• Saturday: all day. Morning ‘til late

• Sunday: all day. Morning ‘til night. (Outta the theatre by 10pm.)

When all is said and done, the festival shakes out to be roughly 12 feature films and 25 short films. We program 1 short before each feature, and also put together a shorts program block that contains approx. 12-15 short films.

No! We are very intentionally a genre film festival, not just a horror film festival, so that we can program some really interesting films that aren’t necessarily blood, guts, and spookiness (love those as we do). Be on the lookout for our short descriptions, genre-listings, and content warnings to help you feel educated and comfortable with what films we’re screening that you might like to see! But we always try to provide a variety, and make sure our non-horror audience always has a couple options!

Anomaly provides content warnings to help audiences make informed decisions and prepare for any sensitive content. We want people to enjoy the experience of coming to a movie, so content warnings are just another way to mentally prepare yourself. The content warnings are listed by the descriptions for each feature and short film.

Many of the films we show are not rated. While a mix of tones, styles, and content abound throughout the festival, you should generally assume an Anomaly screening is for ages 17 and up (the equivalency of the MPAA’s “Rated R”.) But of course: parental and individual discretion is advised.

Yes! Subtitles are listed near each film description, and a full list is available.

Unfortunately, neither open captions nor closed captions are available this year.

We pride ourselves on the fact that all of our feature films are Rochester premieres — having not screened here in town, before — and the features are also not available on streaming (at the time of the festival). So if you wanna see ‘em, see ‘em with us, and then tell your friends you already saw it (and how great it was), when they stumble across it on hulu in 6 months.

We are happy to claim any other premiere status, but we do not require it to be a part of the festival. We just want to show great films; we don’t care if it already played in NYC, the East Coast, the United States, North America, Earth, this Solar System, etc. We only care that you didn’t already play somewhere in spitting distance.

• Doors open 30 minutes before the posted start time. That means the lobby, box office, and concession stand will be open. At that time you can claim your seat in the auditorium. (We allow people to leave their coats or belongings in the theatre between screenings, but Anomaly and The Little are not responsible for your stuff!)

• At the start of each screening there is a live introduction where we introduce the film, sometimes do giveaways, and sometimes engage in other shenanigans.

• We show a festival trailer, and sometimes a couple trailers for other films playing during the festival.

• We play a short film before every feature.

• And then the feature film.

• In select cases, some films are followed by a short Q&A with filmmakers, hosted by Anomaly, either live or pre-recorded.

Fun, silly, energetic, and welcoming: “come hang out and watch some movies with us.” Anomaly is for all persons, and we try to put forth the energy that you’re among friends. Come as you are, be respectful, and we’d be thrilled to share some movies with you! From a hoodie to a suit, whatever attire makes you comfortable.

You can purchase tickets for any individual screening online, in advance. Tickets are also available at the Anomaly box office, in person at The Little Theatre, during the festival weekend: Nov 3-6 (cash or card).

Each ticket is good for 1 person to attend 1 specific screening. Tickets are non-refundable once the screening starts.

All Full Festival passes guarantee you a seat to EVERY screening, during the festival weekend. Once you pick up your pass at the box office, you simply scan your pass at each showing to be let in.

Passholders have the freedom to come-and-go as they please throughout the weekend — so if you decide you need a break, or you decide you’re immediately ready for another film — you don’t have to worry about changing tickets at the last minute; you’re already good-to-go for everything, as you like it!

Passholders also get a few extra goodies, which change year-to-year…

Masks are encouraged (but proof of vaccination not required). Please stay home if you don’t feel well. Read the full details

• The Little has a concession stand which will be open for sale before every screening. The stand closes 15 minutes after each screening starts.

• All concession stand purchases may be brought into the auditorium.

• The concession stand accepts cash and cards. (There is an ATM in the lobby.)

• There is a free water fountain in the basement of Little 1, near the bathrooms.

• Outside food and drink are not allowed inside the building. Please patronize concessions so The Little will have us back!

• Little Theatre 1 does not serve alcohol. HOWEVER, The Little Cafe DOES serve beer and wine and you can bring it back to Little 1. It is open 5pm-9pm on Thursday-Sunday. You can go into the Cafe (located in the Little’s separate building, Little 2-5+Cafe, at 8 Winthrop Street), purchase beer or wine, tell them it’s “to-go, for Little 1” and carry it between the buildings. Bring your drink back into Little 1; it’s legal!

The Little has 2 parking lots, there is lots of street parking, and a garage a few blocks away. See The Little’s page about nearby parking options for more details.

Anomaly is primarily a genre film festival, taking place annually in early November. This is our fourth year!

We also host, co-present, or partner on other movie screenings throughout the year, at a variety of theatres and locations. We’ve been a community partner at The Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum; hosted sneak previews at Regal Henrietta; and even put on a drive-in double-feature at the Silver Lake Drive-In! We do it all, baby!

We also run a podcast, Anomaly Presents, where we talk about some of our favorite movies! The podcast publishes 12-15 times per year, and was nominated for Best Podcast in CITY Newspaper’s “Best of Rochester” contest 2 years in a row! Hot damn!

During the festival weekend, yes! We accept cash or card, and have a booth in the theatre lobby with all sorts of spooky goods.

In the past we’ve also had an online shop after the festival, but that’s still TBD for this year. We are not a daily-operation outside of the lead-up to the festival, and running a festival takes a LOT out of us, physically and mentally. So we’ll see if we have the energy (or the goods!) to continue beyond the festival…

No, Anomaly is NOT a non-profit organization. However we are entirely volunteer-run, none of us are doing this to make buckets of money, and every dollar we earn through ticket-sales, merch-sales, sponsorships, or donations, goes right back into paying for this year’s festival bills, and making next year’s festival even bigger and better. Believe us, don’t get in the film festival game with the idea of getting rich. Do it if you love showing movies and discussing movies as much as we do.

We’re not not a cult…? Next question…

We just think they’re neat.