Article

Tips for Hosting a Screening

June 15, 2003

The Media That Matters Film Festival is a compilation of short films (1-9 minutes) and new media projects by over 16 documentary, narrative and experimental media makers. All of the titles on the DVD compilation tell stories of individuals overcoming injustice, standing up to oppression, and cracking open systems of the status quo. These independent shorts speak in compelling, persuasive and personal ways—vividly illustrating the struggles and triumphs of our lives.

We invite community-based and nonprofit organizations, media arts centers, libraries, schools, colleges and universities, activist groups, and social justice allies to use the festival to counter the mainstream media’s narrow points of view. We invite you to connect these stories to your own work for social justice. Collaborate with local nonprofit allies to bring these films and new media projects to audiences that might not otherwise have access to computers or DVD players.

The following outline offers some guidelines to hosting a MTMFF event or screening – a “how to” on bringing these stories to your local community. Be creative!

Note: When planning your screening of The Media That Matters Film Festival, you are legally prohibited from charging an admission fee. The festival is a project of MediaRights.org, a nonprofit organization, and the festival DVD is being distributed for educational non-commercial use. If you are another nonprofit, you may ask for (but not require) donations to supplement the costs of your event.

OVERALL TASK LIST

You need to identify tasks and roles for yourself and your allies and partner organizations. Create a task list that include the following:

• Find a venue and checking their audio/visual facilities (see “Space and Tech Check” below).
• Secure equipment – at minimum, you will need a TV/screen and a DVD player (many laptops feature this function and can be connected to a TV). You may also want a projector, and a computer with high-speed internet connection to supplement the screening.
• Confirm speakers including community leaders and potentially filmmakers (see “Filmmakers” below).
• Confirm your partners, detailing their role and participation (see “Partners” below).
• Get the word out to your audience through membership and general community mass mailings, flyer postings, community calendar postings, newsletters, newspapers and radio public service announcements.
• Organize press relations, including preparing a press release and securing contacts in the press (see “Promotion” below).
• Make a plan for hosting the reception and for your sign-in table.
• Document the event by taking pictures and recording stories of attendees or speakers, etc. (see “Document Your Event” below).

Most importantly, you need to set up the agenda for the event: Will there be filmmakers present? Who will speak first and for how long? Will there be a panel of “experts?” Who will they be, and will they represent a diversity of opinions/interests? Will there be community announcements? Who is going to ask audience members to support the local struggle? This type of call to action changes the typically passive experience of just watching media into an interactive event in which your audience members are encouraged to take immediate direct actions. Strategic consideration of what happens when the lights come up may be your most crucial decision.

See the TAKE ACTION page for Web sites offering direct actions on the issues addressed in these films. Consider supplementing these online actions with local direct actions; check with your allies to see what folks can do about the local fight!

Some of the projects in The Media That Matters Film Festival collection are not films but interactive Web sites and electronic media. Consider supplementing your film screening or event with computers available before and after so that audience members can have first-hand access to these Web projects as well.

GETTING STARTED

Since there are a number of short films in this collection, you will need to decide the program. The film titles together will run approximately 85 minutes. You are welcome to screen the whole collection or a mix of titles or only one.

STORIES OF HEROS/HEROINES could be one collection focused on personal struggles against injustice. This suggested compilation, about 35 minutes long, could include Diane Wilson: A Warrior’s Tale; Esmeraldas: Petroleum and Poverty; Copwatch; and No Escape, Prison Rape.

Please refer to the end of this article for further recommendations for screening line-ups.

You will also need to research where to hold your event. If you’d like to ask local speakers/participants, ask them far in advance. Evaluate whether you’d like to have a panel discussion before or after the screening. Decide who will participate: community nonprofits, activists, politicians, educators, decision-makers, etc.

PARTNERS

MediaRights.org is about partnerships – linking media makers and resources to social justice organizations and nonprofits. All of the titles in this festival are connected to struggles for justice, often against overwhelming odds. And all of these struggles are supported by nonprofits and community-based activist organizations. The festival offers you a unique opportunity to either highlight your own work or to collaborate with these social justice allies, linking the Media That Matters Festival to grounded and intentional organizing. A partnership with local organizations will focus your event, split the workload and increase the number and diversity of attendees.

Check out the organizations listed in the Take Action section and find additional allies in your area at MediaRights.org

FILMMAKERS

Many of the filmmakers from this collection are interested in appearing at your local event. For their contact information, please refer to the SPECIAL FEATURES section. Contact them, but be prepared to offer an honorarium and to cover their travel expenses. Don’t forget, independent filmmakers are working artists.

PROMOTION

Decide what types of press you want to contact to advertise the screening and highlight your local struggle. Consider all reporters, not just entertainment or film/video reviewers. Options include health reporters, city beat reporters, lifestyle reporters, political reporters and columnists, and of course film/arts reporters. Another option is to ask for a meeting with your local editorial board to explain the local connection.

MediaRights.org can help you to promote your event. Contact us at festival@mediarights.org.

SPACE AND TECH CHECK

If you have never been in the space, check it out before making a commitment. You will need a good DVD player (many laptops offer this function) and a large screen TV or a video projector with computer input. Ask the venue to do a test run; check both image quality and sound. Check for lights or windows that may bleed light onto the screen, check for reflections if using a large TV screen. You should meet with the in-house tech folks at the same time you preview the space as this will allow you to ask them about the in-house projection and sound equipment, and to arrange for outside equipment if needed. Discuss who will oversee all technical issues the date of the event, and confirm that all projection equipment and sound systems work properly. Play the festival DVD to make sure that it works. Remember to check for accessibility to the screening room and bathrooms for people with disabilities.

DOCUMENT YOUR EVENT

Take pictures, write down stories you hear from attendees, survey attendees about how they liked the event and what they’d like to see next, document which press attended and who printed or aired stories, and save your print stories. We can feature a story about your event on MediaRights.org, and we have evaluation forms that will help you access your success (request them by sending an e-mail to festival@mediarights.org). Please let us know how your screening goes and share press or audience responses with us.

We hope that these tips are a helpful resource in the planning of your local screening. Remember, the most important thing is to get people to come together, be engaged by the Media That Matters films and new media projects and take part in constructive discussions and actions around the issues. By planning things in advance, collaborating with other organizations and taking care of any technical concerns, you will be able to ensure a smooth-running event that will hopefully lead to positive change in your community. If you have any other questions or would like to be placed in contact with other people who have held successful screenings, please send an e-mail to festival@mediarights.org. Good luck!

MORE IDEAS FOR SCREENING LINE-UPS

THE ENVIRONMENT – Diane Wilson: A Warrior’s Tale (online only); Esmeraldas: Petroleum and Poverty; How to Make a Bird.

YOUTH - Rebel (by and about youth); Holla Back Dubai! (by and about youth); Storm (about youth); No Escape, Prison Rape (about youth).

CRIMINAL JUSTICE – No Escape, Prison Rape; Copwatch.

HEALTH – Luv Me Latex; As We Sleep.

VIDEO ACTIVISM – Copwatch; Holla Back Dubai!

TOLERANCE – Vision Test; Is My Neighbor Latino?; Face to Face: Stories From the Aftermath of Infamy (new media project).

COPING WITH ABUSE/TRAGEDY ON A PERSONAL OR COLLECTIVE LEVEL – Storm; No Escape, Prison Rape; As We Sleep; The Sonic Memorial Project (new media project); Silence Speaks (new media project).

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS – How to Make a Bird; Luv Me Latex.

If you are concerned about the age appropriateness of the films and new media in the festival, the following titles may not be suitable for children under 15. Please use your discretion – No Escape, Prison Rape; As We Sleep; Copwatch; Luv Me Latex; Silence Speaks; Esmeraldas: Petroleum and Poverty.

About the organization that produced this guide

WORKING FILMS , co-founded by veteran film festival curator and media educator Robert West and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and organizer Judith Helfand, is a partner of MediaRights.org. They are a nationally recognized activist-driven bridge between high quality documentary filmmaking and serious grassroots organizing. Now in their fourth year, their work supports efforts for social, economic, environmental and civil justice. Working Films has fine-tuned an evolving process that respects and balances the narrative needs of filmmaking with the strategic needs of organizing initiatives. They believe that social justice docs can be as resonant and effective as they are engaging and entertaining. Contact them to find out more about their work and to see social justice media in action! www.WorkingFilms.org, Robert West (910) 342-9000 or rwest@workingfilms.org