Host a Screening

What is a community screening?

• Lots of folks ask us this question! Essentially, it’s an event where one (or more) of our films are shown – in a theatre, a public library, a church hall, a community centre, or even in somebody’s living room. Really, it’s where a community comes together to watch a film.
• If your event is FREE and open to the public, we can provide the film to you for FREE. If you charge an admission fee, we have to charge you a rental fee.

Who can host a screening?

• Anybody!

If I’m a teacher and I want to show a film in my classroom – can I do that?

• We’ve had a lot of requests from teachers interested in screenings films for their students, so we created four online playlists of films for K-12 learning. Three are for the classroom, and one is geared toward professional development for educators. We’re calling this online programming Indigenous Cinema in the Classroom and, like the Wide Awake Tour, it’s free of charge. All you need is an Internet connection. To view the playlists, click here.To access additional films from our collection, please contact your school’s digital resource centre to determine whether your school has purchased NFB films or CAMPUS, NFB Education’s online streaming platform.To learn more about our entire collection of Indigenous films for the classroom, you can subscribe to the NFB Education newsletter, or browse the NFB Education section of our website.

Ok, so if I want to host a community screening, what do I need to do?

• Find a venue – where do you want to show the film? We suggest that groups approach public libraries, school auditoriums, church facilities and community centres as host venues – if they do not have their own space. These spaces can often be made available “free of charge” if the venue can be an event “sponsor.” You should find out if they have any projection equipment – a projector, laptop or DVD player, and some type of screen is usually all you need to screen one of our films.
• Plan your publicity strategy – how will people find out about the screening? Will you create a Facebook page? Print post cards, posters? Phone people? E-mail them? Getting people out to events is a big job, so you need to have a plan.
• What will the NFB do? We send you the film (usually either a digital file, which you can download by clicking on a link in an e-mail, or a DVD, which we ship to you) and the press kit (which contains a description of the film, biography of the filmmaker, background info on the film, and a poster file you can print yourself) and we create a listing on the NFB’s website – which you can link to from your Facebook page and share with your FB friends!

What films are available for community screenings?

• Our collection of 250+ Indigenous-made works consists mostly of animated films and documentaries. Some are short (less than 5 minutes) and some are feature length (usually 90 minutes or so). Some fall somewhere in between: anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes.
• The films cover a range of issues and themes, including identity, home, justice and nationhood. There are films for kids and films for all ages, some of which deal with mature themes.
• Our Distribution agents can help you find a film or plan a program when you contact us at wideawake@nfb.ca.