Now available on DVD and On-Demand
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Thank you for signing up to host a screening of Mantra in your city. This toolkit will provide you with the guidelines and materials you need to help you promote your screening. When you read through the information below visit our Screening Wizard to see how our materials can help you tip your screening more efficiently.
ABOUT THE FILM - Useful to add to your Facebook Event page and your posts
Short Synopsis: A feature-length documentary, exploring the new music and social phenomenon of chanting, MANTRA – Sounds into Silence shares the stories of people who are finding healing and a sense of inner peace by singing mantras together with others just like them. It’s a film about spirituality not religion, it’s about people reconnecting with their true selves and with others.
As our characters’ stories about their connection to the music unfold, we meet the musicians who have inspired them and brought them together. Through these encounters we will discover how Snatam Kaur, Deva Primal & Miten, Krishna Das, Lama Gyurme, Jai Uttal and MC Yogi, amongst others, came to this music themselves and to the practice of Kirtan, and how, over the years, it transformed their lives too.
Read here about how Georgia Wyss discovered the world of mantra, why she decided to make this film and why she felt it was important to spread the word about her discovery.
GETTING STARTED
I. YOUR SCREENING:
REMEMBER: The screening is only guaranteed to happen after it ‘tips,’ meaning enough tickets are reserved. Your screening page will display the number of tickets needed to tip.
This is your chance to share the film with your local community and spread the beauty and power of Kirtan with your friends and family.
It is IMPORTANT to start engaging your audience EARLY!
TIP: IF YOU CAN GET 10 PEOPLE TO RESERVE TICKETS IN THE FIRST TEN DAYS YOU HAVE A 95% LIKELIHOOD OF TIPPING.
I. MAKING YOUR SCREENING A SUCCESS:
The #1 tip for your screening to be successful: The more people the better, recruit some co-hosts to help you get the word out about your event!
#2 Collaboration is key! The theater can be filled with your friends. You can also find partners to help by inviting their own communities. Engage partners early and often to help get as many people to attend as possible. Anyone can purchase a ticket, so think out of the box in terms of who you contact. Getting the word out about Kirtan is important and crowdsourcing is all about generating buzz and attention;
#3 Turn your screening into an event! We encourage you to take advantage and engage your community in an important dialogue. If you decide to make your screening an event, you can consider doing a welcome and introduction. You can also have a discussion, Q&A or short (acoustic) performance after the film with community members and local artists.
II. MANTRA MOVIE CAPTAIN FACEBOOK GROUP
Joining and participating in the Captain's Group is KEY to your screening's success. For Top Tips, flyer and poster artwork and most of all inspiration, then this is the place to be! If you've registered your event you should already have been invited to join the Mantra Movie Captain Facebook Group. Make sure to check your email and accept! If you don’t find it, just send us a request from here: facebook.com/groups/184762598780988
*The Facebook group is also a place for Movie Captains to communicate and share advice and ideas for tipping screenings. It’s a place to share pictures of your screening, and stories about how you created a fantastic event.
III. CAPTAIN'S TOOLS
Here are some of the tools that are available to help you promote your screening: (Click on them to see more)
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Sample Email to Friends & Family
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Sample Email to Organizations
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Sample Social Media Posts
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Customized Flyer to print and distribute
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Customized Poster to post in your Yoga school or on your community noticeboard
IV. HOW TO USE OUR TOOLS TO PROMOTE YOUR SCREENING
Early audience engagement is essential for tipping your screening. Here are a few tried and tested methods for calling out to people in your city to reserve tickets to your screening. Have an idea not listed here? Go for it! You can be as creative as you’d like to spread the word about your screening of Mantra. See also the Screening Wizard
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Send an email blast to your family and friends. If you’re a nonprofit or community organization, you can send one of these emails to your mailing list. Be sure to fill in the red areas with information specific to your local screening.
You can also include a write-up in your newsletter if you have one. Use the Sample Email to Organizations template for individual promoters and organizations to use for all these outreach options.
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Use the email to Friends and Family to let everyone know about your screening.
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Use the sample Social Media Posts for your Facebook,Twitter and Instagram accounts to get the word out and remind your community about the screening.
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Create a Facebook event for your screening and invite all of your friends. The following ones we found to be very effective. But notice that if you have a personal facebook page as opposed to a business facebook page, you will need to post the ticket reservation link right up top in the event description so people can easily find it. Here's an example of each.
Personal FB Event: facebook.com/events/personal style
Business FB Event: facebook.com/events/business style
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Here is the Facebook support guide for creating an event: facebook.com/help
VI. YOUR (GATHR) MOVIE CAPTAIN DASHBOARD
Your MC Dashboard acts as the central launching pad for your screening and has all of the tools that Gathr makes available for you throughout the timeline of your event. Make sure to log in through GATHR.US/DASHBOARD and click on the green DASHBOARD option at the top of the page.
Here are some of the features you will find on the Dashboard:
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Turn your screening into a Fundraiser by choosing to add a donation option to your event.
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Access your Attendee list
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Email your attendees before your event
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Direct link to your toolkit (via Dropbox)
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Schedule a call with a Movie Captain expert
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Print a digital flyer specific to your event
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Join the MC Facebook Group
ADDITIONAL TIPS AND FAQ's
I. THE NIGHT OF YOUR SCREENING
Don’t stop promoting until just hours before your screening. Most people decide to attend 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.
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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.
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Remember to take photos and post to Twitter & Facebook!
II. COMMON QUESTIONS
What is Theatrical On Demand®?
Theatrical On Demand® is a platform that allows individuals like you to bring films to a movie theater in his/her city. The goal is to bring as many people together with films like Mantra in as possible in a theater setting that allows viewers to tune out distractions and immerse themselves in that film’s powerful message.
How do Theatrical On Demand® screenings happen?
Requested Theatrical On Demand® screenings can only happen if a minimum number of people reserve tickets before a screening request expires.
Every screening page shows you the number of current reservations, the number of additional reservations needed to tip the screening, as well as how much time remains before that screening request expires. When enough people reserve tickets to a screening before time expires, the screening takes place. If the minimum number of reservations is not met, the screening does not take place and nobody is charged.
How does someone reserve or purchase a ticket to a screening?
Enter your location/zip code on the map widget at the “US Release” page www.mantramovie.com/usrelease. If there’s a screening, it shows up as a dot on the map. Click the dot!
TIP: Make sure to remind everyone that their tickets must be purchased online in advance to secure the screening of the film.
When will my credit card be charged?
Your credit card will only be charged once the screening has met the minimum number of reservations. If the screening has reached its minimum number of attendees, the dot appears bright green and your ticket purchase will be processed immediately. If the minimum number of attendees is not met in the time frame given, the screening does not take place and nobody is charged.
How do I request to host a screening?
Just in case you are reading this and aren't already a Mantra Movie Captain. The first step is to submit a screening request. Visit www.mantramovie.com/usrelease. scroll down to the map and select "HOST A NEW SCREENING." You’ll be prompted to fill our simple screening request form. Once you’ve finished, we will get in contact with you with additional information as we work to schedule your screening.
What can I do to make my screening happen?
Start with your friends and family, and anyone you think would be interested in seeing the film. Share across Facebook and Twitter, and use our screening toolkit to easily get the word out. Be creative - the more ways you spread the word about your movie event, the more likely it will happen!
What are the responsibilities of a Movie Captain?
As a Captain, we're counting on you to tell your community about the scheduled screening, and direct them to your screening page to reserve tickets. Remember: a screening can only happen if enough tickets are reserved in advance, so we need you to help spread the word about why your requested film should be screened in your city!
HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SCREENING?
Go to your Movie Captain Dashboard and schedule a time to speak with a Representative at Gathr about your screening at Gathr.us/dashboard OR ask us in the Facebook Captain's Group.