You may remember that a few months back we were all a-quiver with excitement about the arrival of a certain Molly James, all the way from the US of A. Now Molly’s settled in, she’s looking for a gang to help her spread the word. Read on to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth…
Greetings Just Do It-ers! Your favorite Outreach Coordinator, Molly here. If you’ve been on the edge of your seat watching this project progress, wishing you lived in London so you could get in on the action, listen up ’cause now’s your chance!
All along the way, Just Do It has been a collaborative effort, made possible only through the support of 100′s of people generously giving their time and money. So, it is only fitting that the distribution of the film falls in line. With Just Do It’s official release on the horizon, our key strategy to get this film out to a massive audience is to ensure that we have a strong network of local citizens who can champion the film. Part of an expansive network, local champs will be our legs on the ground across the UK. These folks will be mobilising support for the film in their communities; getting bums on seats in cinemas, organising events or direct actions around screenings, in short, helping ensure that Just Do It makes a massive splash.
Sound good? So this is where you come in. You’ve been with us all along the way and now we need your help to take the film to people up and down and left and right of the UK. Working with fellow Champs in your area and with the support of the entire Just Do It team at your disposal, Local Champs will get the first hand chance to capture our audiences’ inspiration and transform it into action.
So, what precisely might a Local Champ do, you may ask?
- Build a Community of Local Supporters. Connect with the other Champs in your area and brainstorm ideas. Talk about the film to friends, family, colleagues or the girl sitting next to you at the bar. If you are part of any local organisations, why not bring it up in meetings or on mailing lists. You could even reach out to other local groups and see if their members are interested. Maybe start an email list or Facebook group you can use to get the word out to people about cinema screenings, community events or direct actions linked with the film.
- Make sure Just Do It cinema screenings are full. The more packed showings we have, the more cinemas will show the film and more people we can touch. So what can you do to get bums on seats?
- Create a buzz around the film (via email, press, social media and good old fashion talking to people) and mobilise friends, family, colleagues, and anyone else to come to the screening in your area. Maybe get a local community group to set up a stall with information about their campaign or brief the audience on how they can get involved. You could even book a Just Do It cast and crew member to lead a Q&A or debate. And if you are feeling really ambitious, why not organise an action to take people to after the event?
- Get Your Local Cinema to Just Show It. If the cinema in your town was silly enough not to book the film, get them to just show it already. Local cinemas decide what films to show based on how many people they think will come see it. Contact your local independent cinema to let them know that you and all your friends want to see Just Do It in their cinema. Our soon-to-be completed new website will also include a page where you can input your postal code and register your interest in seeing a cinema screening in your area. Get a bunch of your friends and colleagues to register and demonstrate a demand to your local cinema.
- Organise Community Screenings. If there’s no cinema screening in our town or it’s already been shown, why not hold a community screening in a local church, auditorium, school or in your living room? Maybe invite a local group to brief the audience about their campaign or invite a speaker and hold a Q&A. And If you’re feeling really ambitious, transform your screening into a day of action with a training session, a bike maintenance workshop, a garden party or whatever else you fancy. You could even charge for tickets and raise money for your community group or campaign.
Got an even better idea? Go for it!
We’ll outfit Local Champs with a full toolkit and a team of fellow Champs in their area. Of course we’ll provide support every step of the way, whether it hashing out ideas for that super cool underground screening or help put together and send out a press packet. The sky is the limit for what you can do with this, feel free to make it your own and be creative. And again, how much you do it totally up to you, so long as you just do it.
If you’re interested, have a question or would like to find out more, get in touch with Molly at [email protected].
