Outdoor Cinema Promotes Local Filmmakers

Organizing monthly outdoor cinema screenings that highlight local filmmakers is a fun way to promote your community. Whether you’re near a university full of student filmmakers eager to show their work, or in a larger city with an active art-and-documentary scene, it’s a great way to contribute to local culture and give your local artists a wider audience. Open Air Cinema’s portable outdoor movie screens and systems set up quickly and easily on a school campus, in a park, or even on a rooftop.

Find an Audience for Your Outdoor Cinema Event

Getting started as a filmmaker is daunting — making the film is only half the battle; the other half is getting it in front of an audience. A monthly outdoor cinema series is a great, low-stress way to get work out there. Make the event fun with low-cost drinks and snacks, or invite a local restaurant or café to cater and promote their business. Create a poster for the series, a simple website, and gather emails from attendees to keep the community up to date. One bonus of screening in a local park or public space: you’ll reach audiences who usually only see the Hollywood movies at the local multiplex.

Use Your Outdoor Cinema Series to Fund Local Filmmakers

A major hurdle for even a small short film is budget — a good camera, actors, a cinematographer, and sound and video editing add up fast. As you build a dedicated audience, consider turning the program into a benefit: show past films by the filmmaker, or works that inspired the project. Even a five-dollar donation from each attendee adds up and can give a filmmaker a head start while promoting their work.