Gathr Screening Toolkit

Transcription

1 Gathr Screening Toolkit

2 THE STARFISH THROWERS Gathr Screening Toolkit Welcome to your step-by-step guide to crowdsourcing a screening of The Starfish Throwers. The Starfish Throwers has partnered with Theatrical On Demand film distribution service, Gathr Films, to allow individuals like you the opportunity to book The Starfish Throwers into your local movie theater Share the film with your local community, create a dialogue and help raise awareness. Your support will help spread the word about the film, and help its message of hope reach new audiences. This is your chance to become part of something important After you submit a request on Gathr, you ll become the Movie Captain and receive your own personal screening webpage where all of your friends can easily reserve tickets to the film. Your Screening of The Starfish Throwers The Starfish Throwers has the power to inspire people to give back to their communities and make a difference, so thank you for agreeing to promote a local screening. You ve received a link from Gathr confirming the theater and time of your screening. Remember: The screening is only guaranteed to happen after it tips, meaning enough tickets are reserved. Your Gathr screening page displays the number of tickets your particular screening needs to tip. Leading up to the Screening Promote It s time to creatively market your screening. Reach out to your friends, co-workers and family. Connect with anyone you know through your community activities, volunteer work, local civic organizations, church, synagogue or mosque. At the end of this document you will find templates to help you promote your screening. MS Word versions of many of these documents will also be available on The Starfish Thrower s website at: thestarfishthrowers.com/gathr/. Sample Simple Screening Info Sheet Sample to Friends & Family Sample to Organizations Community Partners Info Template Sample Social Media Posts Sample Local Press Release Press Kit (available on TST website thestarfishthrowers.com/press) Poster & Images (available on TST website thestarfishthrowers.com/press) Don t stop promoting until just hours before your screening. Most people decide to attend

3 a movie at the last minute, so don t get discouraged if your tickets sold or reservation numbers don t spike until just days before the event. Anyone can purchase a ticket, so think big in terms of whom you reach out to. This is a truly meaningful film that can spark positive action, and crowdsourcing is all about generating buzz and attention. Tips on how to use these tools to best promote your screening: Collaborate is key Connect with partners. Your can fill the big theater with your friends or find partners, allies, and sponsors to help you by inviting their communities as well. Engage partners early and often to help get as many people at the screening as possible. See our Community Partner Info sheet with ideas of how such a partnership could work. Some organizations to consider include: o o o o Food banks. The Starfish Throwers has an emerging relationship with the national office of Feeding America, one of the nation s largest food bank networks. You can start by finding a local Feeding America affiliate with which to connect. Any local food bank, though, would be a worthy partner. Volunteer organizations such as the HandsOn network or Habitat for Humanity. Remember, while the people featured in the film are working to end hunger, the film is not just about hunger relief. It s about how one person s actions to help those in need can ripple outward into larger positive change in our communities. It s about how we each can make a difference. Religious organizations, churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. Other charitable organizations such as Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, etc. Make it an event. We encourage you to capture this opportunity to engage your community in an important dialogue that addresses this pressing global issue. If you decide to make your screening an event, you can consider doing a welcome and introduction. You can also consider having a discussion or Q&A after the film with community members or experts. Your community partner organization(s) could also do an event around the screening food drive, membership signup, or other event. Create an info sheet. Create a simple, one-page info sheet to or hand out to your contact list using the TST Gathr Simple Screening Info Sheet. Be sure to insert your local information to replace the blue areas. Send an blast. Send an blast to your family and friends. Be sure to fill in the red areas with information specific to your local screening. If you re a non-profit or community organization, you can send one of these s to your mailing list. You can also include a write-up in your newsletter. Use the Sample Gathr to Organizations template for individual promoters and organizations to use for all these outreach options. 2

4 Send a press release to local news. Use the Sample Press Release to reach out to your local newspapers, television stations, and radio stations. You should be able to get addresses from media websites. Post on social media. Use the Sample Social Media text to post on Facebook andtwitter, or create your own to remind your community of the screening. Encourage people to share and retweet using the hashtag #ThrowStarfish. Don t forget about Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, LinkedIn and other social media outlets as well. Remember, this is a film about people who started with small acts of kindness that rippled into ever-widening positive change. As Narayan Krishnan says in the film, Get yourself involved with one issue. Maybe you can t solve that issue, but you can participate to the best of your ability. Encourage others to do just that by helping get the word out on this important screening. Create a Facebook event and comment frequently. Create a Facebook event for your screening and invite all your friends. Here s how: 1. Click on Events on the left side of your FB page. 2. Click on Create an Event. 3. Where it says Name, add The Starfish Throwers Screening. 4. Where it says Details, add the date, time and location plus a brief description on what the film is about, like the blurb below: I ve signed up to bring an inspirational documentary about the three fiercely compassionate individuals to [THEATER NAME AND LOCATION]. Worlds apart, a five-star chef, a twelve year-old girl, and a retired school teacher discover how their individual efforts to feed the poor ignite a movement in the fight against hunger. This documentary tells tale of these remarkable individuals and the unexpected challenges they face. Despite being constantly reminded that hunger is far too big for one person to solve, they persevere and see their impact ripple further than their individual actions. Tickets need to be reserved by [TIP DATE]. Click here to reserve yours, or if you can t attend, please consider purchasing a ticket and donating it to someone interested in seeing the film [ADD GATHR URL] 5. Click Invite Friends to add friends to the guest list. Check the names of the people you want to invite and then click Save. 6. Click Create and you re set Your Facebook friends are now invited to your local screening. Post a countdown on your Facebook event page. In each post, show how many more people you need to make the screening happen, and how many days are left. Do this every few days to start, and then daily in the 7-10 days before the tipping deadline draws near. Contact bloggers. If you own a blog or know of anyone who does, you can ask them to make a short post about the opportunity to screen The Starfish Throwers 3

5 Utilize the Captains Facebook Group You will be added to the The Starfish Throwers Gathr Captains Facebook group when you sign up to be a Movie Captain. This is a place for all MCs to communicate and share what advice for tipping screenings. Here you can share and repost any press, news, screening links or articles. Screening Day Ideas You can produce an event program, including information like the names of sponsors, speakers if you re going to have them, information on community resources (food banks, hunger relief organizations, volunteer opportunities), and how to keep get in touch after the event with a link to: Bring a sign-in sheet (name, , and zip code/city). We d love it if you shared the list with us afterward, so we can keep people updated on news about the film via our periodic blasts. Don t forget to bring pens Once your screening tips, the theater is set to go, but if you would like you can assign volunteers to greet attendees and coordinate sign-in sheets. Think of them as personal ambassadors for your screening. Post Screening The Starfish Throwers is a film that will energize people to get involved. They want to know what they can do to help, to give back. Should you be interested in continuing the dialogue after your screening, here are a couple of ideas: Hold a signup drive right after the screening invite several hunger relief or charitable organizations (your community partners if you have them) to have a table or staff to sign people up to volunteer. Organize a follow up event to throw starfish at a future date, perhaps with one of your community partner organizations a volunteer outing with a local relief agency or charitable organization. Host another screening, perhaps in a different part of town or for a different audience. Given that hunger, homelessness, and poverty affects people in virtually every community, there are still millions more who need to see this film. *For questions about screenings, Gathr Films at support@gathr.us. 4

6 THE STARFISH THROWERS Gathr Screening Toolkit Simple Screening Info The Basics Worlds apart, a five-star chef, a twelve year-old girl, and a retired schoolteacher discover how their individual efforts to feed the poor ignite a movement in the fight against hunger. Award-winning chef Narayanan Krishnan, fighting against the caste system in India, quits his job to begin a life of cooking and hand-delivering fresh meals to hundreds of people in his hometown. Katie Stagliano s planting of a single cabbage seedling when she was nine years old blossoms into Katie s Krops, a non-profit with 73 gardens dedicated to ending hunger. Retired middle schoolteacher Mr. Law battles personal health issues as he hand delivers more than a thousand sandwiches nightly to the hungry in Minneapolis. This documentary tells tale of these remarkable individuals and the unexpected challenges they face. Despite being constantly reminded that hunger is far too big for one person to solve, they persevere and see their impact ripple further than their individual actions. Here in [your town], we can make a difference too by sharing this inspiring message of hope and action with our community. When: [day of week, date, time] Where: [theater name and address] Movie trailer: thestarfishthrowers.com Our ask: We need your help to confirm a screening of The Starfish Throwers here in [your town]. Please go to gathr.us/films/the-starfish-throwers and click on [your town] s screening to reserve your ticket. Once there are enough tickets reserved, the screening will get the green light P.S. Can t go? Consider purchasing a ticket as a gift for a friend thestarfishthrowers.com

7 THE STARFISH THROWERS Gathr Screening Toolkit Sample to Friends & Family Hi [insert name], I just signed up to bring an inspirational, award-winning new documentary called The Starfish Throwers to [name of local cinema]. It s a new way of viewing a movie called Theatrical on Demand, which means I got to pick the theater and the date. Now, I can invite my friends and family to attend Film Synopsis Worlds apart, a five-star chef, a twelve year-old girl, and a retired schoolteacher discover how their individual efforts to feed the poor ignite a movement in the fight against hunger. This documentary tells tale of these remarkable individuals and the unexpected challenges they face. Despite being constantly reminded that hunger is far too big for one person to solve, they persevere and see their impact ripple further than their individual actions. You can watch the trailer here: thestarfishthrowers.com Our screening is planned for [date] at [time] at [theater and address]. I hope you can make it. If so, please go to this site [your Gathr URL] to reserve a ticket as soon as possible. [Theater name] needs to know several days in advance of the screening if a minimum number of tickets have been reserved, so be sure to go the site and reserve your ticket as soon as you can. Feel free to tell anyone you know who might be interested. As the film shows, everything big starts small even small actions by individuals to help those in need in their community make a difference. The ripples of such compassionate acts can inspire others to do the same, and more after them. Join my effort thestarfishthrowers.com

8 to spread this much-needed message of hope and action. You will only be charged for the ticket if we re successful in getting the minimum of reservations. Thanks and I hope to see you [date of screening] [Your name] P.S. Can t go? Please consider donating a ticket to someone else who might be interested. shorter version Hi [name], Mark your calendar for [date] at [time]. I would love for you to join a huge group of us who are passionate about hunger relief and making a difference in our community to see the [your city] screening of The Starfish Throwers. This heartfelt documentary tells the story of three individuals working to ending hunger their communities people who started with small acts of kindness that rippled into everwidening positive change. Check out the trailer here: thestarfishthrowers.com If you can come, reserve your ticket for this special private screening (arranged by yours truly) at [theater name and address] here [Gathr URL for your screening]. If we can get [number of tickets to tip the movie], we can bring the award-winning movie to [your city]. You in? If so, spread the word to your friends. If you can t come, you can always purchase a ticket to donate to someone else. See you there [Your name] thestarfishthrowers.com

9 THE STARFISH THROWERS Gathr Screening Toolkit Sample to Organizations Hello[insert(name], Ijustsigneduptobringaninspirational,award5winningnewdocumentarycalledThe$Starfish$Throwers(to( [name(of(local(cinema](on([insert(date/time].(it sanewwayofviewingamoviecalled Theatricalon Demand,whichmeansIgottopickthetheaterandthedate. Thefilmfitsrightinwiththeworkyoudoat[insert(name(of(organization(here],(soI'dliketoinviteyou topartnerwithuswe(would(like(to(join(with(youtohelpspreadthewordaboutourscreeningaswellas aboutthegreatworkthatyourorganizationdoes. The$Starfish$Throwersisthestoryofthreeindividualsworkingtomakeadifferenceinthelivesofothers,to worktowardendinghungertheircommunities peoplewhostartedwithsmallactsofkindnessthatrippled intoever5wideningpositivechange. The(Basics Link(toourscreening&thetrailer:[your(Gathr(URL] Link(tofilm swebsite: Date/Time:[insert(date/time] Location:[insert(theater] Deadline(to"tip"thescreening:[insert(date] Here's(how(it(works: Weneedatotalof[insert(#(left(to(tip](morepeopletoreserveticketstomakethescreeninghappen,or to"tip"thescreening. Wehavejust[insert(#(days(left(to(tip](days(lefttodoso WecanworkwithGathrFilmsforyoutohaveapresence(on(the(screenings(page(linkedabove)aswell asatthescreeningitself,andonsocial(mediabeforehand.youcouldalsoorganizeaneventaroundthe screeningitselfon[insert(screening(date].there(are(many(wayswecanpartnerandopportunitiesfor youtoconnectwiththeaudienceabouttheworkthatyoudo. thestarfishthrowers.com

10 Onyourend,we'daskyourhelpingettingthewordoutinvariouswaystogetenoughadvancedtickets purchasedsowecan"tip"thescreeningandmakeitareality aneblast,onsocialmedia,yourwebsite, etc. IcansendyouaPDFwithmorespecificideas,butthat'sthegistofit.Icanalsohavethefilm soutreach coordinatorsendyoualink(to(previewthefullfilm.time(is(short,(but(we(can(make(this(happen Sincerely, [Your(name]( [Your(contact(information]( ( to Orgs shorter version Hello[insert(name], IjustsigneduptobringaninspirationalnewdocumentarycalledThe$Starfish$Throwers(to([name(of(local( cinema](on([insert(date/time].(it sanewwayofviewingamoviecalled TheatricalonDemand,which meansigottopickthetheaterandthedate.however,enoughticketsmustbereservedby[insert(tipping( deadline]inorderforthescreeningtohappen. Asthefilmfitsrightinwiththeworkyoudoat[insert(name(of(organization(here],(I(would(like(to(partner( with(youtohelpspreadthewordaboutourscreeningaswellasaboutthegreatworkthatyourorganization does.theyaremanywaysinwhichwecouldworktogether,andi denjoythechancetosharethemwithyou. The$Starfish$Throwersisthestoryofthreeindividualsworkingtomakeadifferenceinthelivesofothers peoplewhostartedwithsmallactsofkindnessthatrippledintoever5wideningpositivechange.checkout thefilm strailerandwebsiteatwww.thestarishthrowers.com. Moreinformationonourlocalscreeningishere:[your(Gathr(URL] Wouldyoubewillingtochatbyphoneinthenextfewdaysaboutapossiblepartnership?Ilookforwardto hearingbackfromyou. Sincerely, [Your(name]( [Your(contact(information]( ( thestarfishthrowers.com

11 THE STARFISH THROWERS Community Partner for Gathr Films Theatrical Screenings Throw Starfish with Us Partner: xx City: xx Screening Date: xx Deadling to Tip: xx What our partnership could look like (options) The Starfish Throwers, Gathr Films team, & our local Movie Captain can Provide a private online link for your staff decision-makers to view the film ahead of time. Post a link to your organization on our Gathr Films page for this screening. Post your logo, linking to your organization s website, on the Throw Starfish page of The Starfish Throwers website. There fans of the film both locally and around the globe can find organizations like yours with which to connect. Schedule a Q&A after the screening for representatives from your staff to discuss your organization s work and mission (with permission of the venue). Arrange for you to have a table at the screening for literature, signup lists, etc. (with permission of the venue). Arrange for you to take donations after the screening, to pass the hat (with permission of the venue). Assist with gaining permission from the venue for you to hold an event focused around the screening food drive, other fundraiser (with permission of the venue). Post about your organization on our social media (Facebook, Twitter). Send you postcards about the film with the screening information. You can give these out at events between now and the deadline to tip the screening, and/or to have at your location. Send you 11x17 posters of the film with the screening information. You can post these at events between now and the deadline to tip the screening, and at your location(s). Your team can your mailing list of supporters, inviting them to buy advance tickets to the screening to support your organization s work, and to help us tip the screening so it can happen Post the link to our Gathr screening on your web page, encouraging your followers to purchase tickets so we can tip the screening so it can happen Then once the screening has tipped, encourage your followers to buy tickets and join us. Share the link to our Gathr screening on your and social media, encouraging your followers to purchase tickets so we can tip the screening so it can happen Then once the screening has tipped, encourage your followers to buy tickets and join us. Send representatives to attend the screening as described in the above section to hold a Q&A after the screening, staff a table, staff an event around the screening, etc. Provide any literature you may have for people who want to know more about what your organization does. Engage your fans on social media in a discussion on the importance of working to give of their time, energy and resources in their own communities, through their own small acts. Connect with us on social media. Distribute postcards at any events you may have between now and then, or at your location. Encourage your employees to attend the screening, highlighting how it connects with the work that you do via internal postings, blasts, newsletters, website posts, social media, etc. Inform your patrons of the screening and how it connects with the work that you do at postings, blasts, newsletters, website, social media. Display an 11x17 poster of the film with the screening information at your location(s). We welcome any other ideas you may have as well Contact: Pete Tedrow, Outreach and Festival Coordinator The Starfish Throwers pete@thestarfishthrowers.com [insert your name], TST [insert city] Movie Captain [insert captain s contact info]

12 THE STARFISH THROWERS Gathr Screening Toolkit Promote on Social Media The Basics Social media makes it easy to alert your friends, family and social and business contacts about an upcoming local screening. Whether you re already a Captain of a screening or a person interested in finding the movie in your area, using the Facebook and Twitter samples below will help recruit your friends to reserve tickets and make the event a reality Facebook Tips & Resources: Keep your posts short If you have more to say, group the information into two short paragraphs. Use links or images in your posts. Until you tip the screening, you ll want to link directly to your Gathr screening URL in most posts to direct people to buy tickets. Comment on relevant pages to encourage people to attend start a conversation. Facebook pages to Like and then link to in your posts: Any community partner organizations with which you may connect. Hashtags to consider using: #ThrowStarfish #EndHunger #HungerAction #MakeADifference #GiveBack #[insert your city] #film #documentary #hope #inspiration A source for making shortened URL links for your posts: thestarfishthrowers.com

13 Find images you can upload with your posts here: Sample Facebook Posts: 1. Bring The Starfish Throwers to [#, then insert your city] Watch the trailer and reserve your ticket now: [insert your local Gathr URL]. #ThrowStarfish 2. The Starfish Throwers tells the stories of three individuals working to make a difference in the lives of others people who started with small acts of kindness that rippled into everwidening positive change. #ThrowStarfish Join us for inspiration: [insert your local Gathr URL] 3. A story of three fiercely compassionate individuals, filmmaker Jesse Roesler skillfully weaves their tales together for a powerful impact greater than the sum of its parts. Kristin Tillotson on The Starfish Throwers. [insert your local Gathr URL] 4. Need inspiration? Want to see hope in action? Attend The Starfish Throwers at [insert theater here] in [#, then insert your city] on [insert date, time]. Advance reservations needed to make it happen #ThrowStarfish Click here: [insert your local Gathr URL]. 5. What would you do to fight a battle you could never win? Watch The Starfish Throwers to see how others are spreading hope to the hopeless by doing just that. Click here to reserve your ticket TODAY: [insert your local Gathr URL]. #ThrowStarfish 6. Bringing The Starfish Throwers message of hope to [#, then insert your city] relies on YOU. Reserve your ticket now: [insert your local Gathr URL]. #ThrowStarfish 7. YOUR ticket reservation makes our [#, then insert your city] screening of The Starfish Throwers a reality. Reserve by [insert tip deadline] to help make it happen: [insert your local Gathr URL]. #ThrowStarfish thestarfishthrowers.com

14 8. The Starfish Throwers will likely do two things to you: 1) inspire you to do more to make a difference in the world, and 2) make you reevaluate your priorities in life. Documentary Talk. documentarytalk.com/starfish-throwers/ Click here to watch it with us: [insert your local Gathr URL] 9. If food is love, then you need to see this film. Join us: [insert your local Gathr URL]. Twitter Tips & Resources: Incorporate hash tags as part of your message rather than just at the end. Use links or images in your posts. Until you tip the screening, you ll want to link directly to your Gathr screening URL in most posts to direct people to buy tickets. Use Bitly (link below) to create shortened versions of your URLs to save characters. You can delete the before the Bityl once you paste it in your Tweet. Tweetdeck try using this FREE app to schedule Tweets ahead of time. Hashtags to consider using: #ThrowStarfish #EndHunger #HungerAction #MakeADifference #GiveBack #[insert your city] #film #documentary #hope #inspiration Twitter pages to follow & consider incorporating into @AkshayaTrust1 (all connected to the any comm. partner s Twitter handles] A source for making shortened URL links for your Tweets: Find images you can upload with your Tweets here: thestarfishthrowers.com

15 Sample Twitter Posts: 1. Help to [#, then insert your city] on [insert screening date]: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via Bitly link]. #EndHunger 2. If food is love, then you need to see this film: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. #ThrowStarfish #documentary 3. Everything big starts small. #ThrowStarfish with us: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. #MakeADifference 4. #GiveBack, [#, then insert your city]. Join [@, then insert your comm. partner Twitter handle if you have one] on [insert screening date]: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. 5. #ThrowStarfish, [#, then insert your city]. Reserve ur tiks by [insert tip deadline]: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. #HungerAction 6. #HungerAction starts with YOU. Learn to #ThrowStarfish on [insert screening date]: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. 7. w/o in [#, then insert your city] won t happen. Reserve tiks by [insert tip deadline]: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. #EndHunger 8. #AllanLaw: The key to everything is that people know that you care. Help us bring #hope to [#, then insert your city]: [insert your local Gathr URL, or a shortened version via a Bitly link]. thestarfishthrowers.com

16 THE STARFISH THROWERS Gathr Screening Toolkit Sample Local Press Release AWARD-WINNING FILM THE STARFISH THROWERS SCREENS AT [insert theater name] Documentary profiles three fiercely compassionate individuals making a difference For Immediate Release [insert city, state, date], 2014 Gathr Films brings The Starfish Throwers award-winning documentary film to [insert theater name] on [insert screening date] at [insert screening time]. Selected by Toronto s Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival as one of its Best of Hot Docs to screen in Vancouver this year, the film s recently been highlighted on Upworthy. Gathr Films Theatrical On Demand crowdsourcing distribution service allows individuals to bring films they want to see right to their own local theater. Special event screening tickets for [insert city name] are available now by clicking here: [insert your local Gathr screening link here]. Watch the trailer at thestarfishthrowers.com. This [insert city name] screening of The Starfish Throwers is sponsored by [insert name of any community partners with which you may have joined. If there are none, delete this paragraph]. Worlds apart, a five-star chef, a twelve year-old girl, and a retired schoolteacher discover how their individual efforts to feed the poor ignite a movement in the fight against hunger. Award-winning chef Narayanan Krishnan, fighting against the caste system in India, quits his job to begin a life of cooking and hand-delivering fresh meals to hundreds of people in his hometown. Katie Stagliano s planting of a single cabbage seedling when she was nine years old blossoms into Katie s Krops, a South Carolina non-profit with 73 gardens dedicated to ending hunger. Retired middle-school teacher Mr. Law battles personal health issues as he hand delivers more than a thousand sandwiches nightly to the hungry in Minneapolis. This documentary tells the tale of these remarkable individuals and the unexpected challenges they face. Despite being constantly reminded that hunger is far too big for one person to solve, they persevere and see their impact ripple further than their individual actions. Awards won to date: 2014 Winner Global Health Competition Audience Award, Cleveland International Film Festival 2014 Winner Human Spirit Award, Nashville Film Festival 2014 Winner Best Feature Documentary, MN-Made Program, Minneapolis St. Paul Int l Film Festival 2014 Winner Best Feature Documentary, Audience Award, Minneapolis St. Paul Int l Film Festival

17 2014 Best Documentary, Myrtle Beach Film Festival 2014 Best Overall Film, Myrtle Beach Film Festival 2014 Big Cheese Award, Port Townsend Film Festival 2014 Best Feature, Awareness Festival (Santa Monica, CA) 2014 Most Uplifting Feature, Awareness Festival (Santa Monica, CA) Click here to reserve tickets: [insert Gathr screening link for your screening] ### For more information about this screening of the documentary film The Starfish Throwers, contact [insert Gathr captain s name and contact address]. For press inquiries or other information, contact info@thestarfishthrowers.com or visit thestarfishthrowers.com. Online screener link available to press upon request.