Thank you for wanting to share this film. We are a very small team but stand by to help if we can. If you would like to partner with us and have one of the team involved with the filmmaking come and speak at your screening, please contact us at info@soldthefilm.com. In your email please tell us the dates being considered and whether you have someone to help book the travel and lodging.
If you require a specific format for showing the film, let us know and we will tell you whether we can accommodate.
If you would like to host a public, community, and educational screenings of SOLD: Fighting the New Global Slave on your own, we ask that you purchase the DVD and the viewing rights here: http://ffh.films.com/id/17623/Sold_Fighting_the_New_Global_Slave_Trade.htm
Planning Your Screening
1 The first step is figuring out WHERE you want to show SOLD
Public schools and public libraries are a good place to start: Most have meeting rooms with some kind of pull down screen and a built-in audio-visual system. You’ll want to make sure there is a way to control the lights in the room, ideally a dimmer switch and heavy window shades if you will be screening before it is dark outside.
Coffee houses and local museums are also a smart option: They often charge a minimal fee to use a room but book up fast, so be sure to reserve a couple of months in advance.
2 It’s also wise to determine HOW you will show the film
The good news is that you don’t need a lot of equipment to make the screening look professional!
Here’s what you will need to beg, borrow or rent:
- A big wide-screen TV or pull-down video screen.
- A DVD player (You can play SOLD off of a laptop but the visuals just don’t look as great).
- A set of speakers.
- Comfortable and quiet seats.
- Signs to point folks towards the screening.
- Table(s) for promotion literature, DVDs, sign-in sheet, refreshments.
- Clearly marked parking.
3 Adding a few extras can make your screening even MORE successful
Snacks: Local businesses are often willing to contribute some wine, coffee or baked goods if you make your request in a proper note, sent well in advance and direct them to the SOLD website. What works best is to offer to purchase some product and then ask them to donate an equal amount. What we usually do is follow-up with a thank you note and a DVD of the film.
Of course, if you are a non-profit group with members, you can also call upon them to do a bit of baking the night before!
Very important: Don’t forget to have a cash box with change in it.
Literature: Set up a special table for any literature from your own organization or other partner anti-slavery groups. Even if these other groups can’t attend the screening, they usually appreciate being able to have their brochures available and will often send them to you in advance. You can find many of them on “The Facts” page of our website.
We would appreciate it if you have a sign up sheet where folks can leave their names and emails so we can keep them up to date on SOLD and other anti-slavery events. We don’t bombard folks with emails, so no worries there.
Gift Table: Another option is to have an area where you can either:
- Sell SOLD DVDs (we can get them to you and will offer any profit to your non-profit group)
- Offer recommended books on the subject. Local bookstores will often provide you with a few titles to sell if you are having a bigger screening. You might also consider asking an author to join a panel discussion after the screening if there is someone local or on book tour.
- Sell items made by former slaves. Organizations such as Fair Fund offer gifts such as jewelry made by young girls who have escaped from slavery. http://www.fairfund.org/subpage.asp?P=about&S=programs&T=jewelGirlz
4 The best screenings involve a rehearsal
Most venues allow you to come in and do a dry run earlier in the day so be sure to ask about this when you schedule the screening, in case they have other events happening that same day and need you to come a day earlier.
This rehearsal is the time to ensure that your audio levels are high enough, all of the cables and plus work and the film is the correct shape and size for the screen. If the image looks crunched or stretched, you can adjust the “aspect ratio” or “mode” settings on your projector or television until it looks right.
5 Ensure a full house by promoting your event
Once you lock in a date and location, it’s time to start promoting your event. The more time that you allow, the more time local journalists, activists, and community organizations have to spread the word.
Be sure to email or call in the event info to the community events calendars of your local newspaper and websites. Most have a special email address or fax number for these submissions.
If there is a local angle to your screening, then write up a one-page information sheet detailing the connection between you or your group and SOLD. Be sure to include your contact information on this. Now figure out which editors would be most interested in this local angle on the national and international issue of modern day slavery. This might be the religion, education or film editor/reporter. Don’t worry if you don’t have a local angle. The fact that you are interested in this issue and are mobilizing people in your community is enough!
We know you’ve already thought of this, but don’t forget to post information about the event on your website and on your Facebook page, you can also print up small posters to hang in your local library, area coffee shops and book stores.
You will find a press kit here, which includes a synopsis, photos, biographies. If you’d like to use the poster or postcard templates for SOLD, please tell us about your event and email us at info@soldthefilm.com.
We can also try to list your event on our Events page and via our Facebook and Twitter sites, if you get it to us in time. Sometimes we are out of the country and unable to do this, so be sure to give us plenty of time as well.
We can also post information about your screening on our site and with our partners if you email us with the details in the following format:( CAN WE MAKE THIS BIT BELOW CLICKABLE IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN FILL IT OUT AND SEND IT BACK TO US?)
Date:
Presented by:
Venue Name:
Venue Street Address:
Screening Time:
Other event information, optional: (By Invitation Only, RSVP to ___________, For Tickets, contact __________, Free Screening, etc.)
City, State, and/or Country
Organize a Post Screening Conversation
One of the best ways to “localize” the issue of modern day slavery after your SOLD screening is to invite a speaker or host a panel of local experts to continue the conversation.
Speakers: There might be a local or regional expert who can discuss the themes of the film in a local context. Be sure to invite them well in advance and give them an opportunity to view the film first and to prepare some short remarks. At the event itself, provide your speaker with a chair, a podium and a glass of water. Be sure to properly introduce him or her and have someone available to organization the question and answer session afterwards.
Panel Discussions:
We are big fans of following up the film with a discussion or Q and A session. Sometime your audience won’t want to sit through a speech after watching a film, but most folks will have a question or two and be curious to hear from community leaders or academics who can bring varying perspective to the themes explored in SOLD.
If you have a medium to small audience, questions can be handled quite simply. If you are expecting a large audience, you might want to appoint someone to select whose question to take and someone else to bring the microphone to them.
You could also pass out slips of paper before the film and encourage your audience to write their questions down and pass them to the aisle at the end of the film.
Invite the Director:
We love to try to accommodate requests for the filmmaker to attend and speak at festivals and screenings. Please understand that Jody Hassett Sanchez has a small child and is working on other jobs and projects to pay the bills! If her schedule permits, she will do her best to attend your event.
Please send your requests to info@soldthefilm.com and label them “Director Invite.”
Finally, we want to hear how your event went, so please send us a quick report and pictures from the event!