Host a Screening & Panel Discussion
Hosting a screening of any of the following documentary films, followed by a panel discussion, is a powerful way to raise awareness about plastic pollution and move people to take action. It can also be an important educational step in your policy campaign so don’t forget to invite your local elected officials and legislators!
Below is a collection of documentaries we recommend screening. Choose one based on your campaign and then follow the steps on hosting a screening. Reach out to us if you need help or have any questions.
This Suncoast Emmy Winner was featured at the 2024 Santa Fe Film Festival.
We’re All Plastic People Now
Run time: 56 minutes
Request a screening link or stream from PBS.org
We’re All Plastic People Now is an Emmy Award-winning documentary, with introduction by actor and environmentalist, Ted Danson, that investigates the hidden story of plastic and its effects on human health. We’re All Plastic People Now is centered around the question “how much evidence do we need before we decide to take action?”
Follow the guidelines below and use the links at the top of the page or below the guidelines to download assets to promote your screening.
The Story of Plastic
Run time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Email us to request a screening link.
This award-winning documentary was created by our friends at The Story of Stuff and is distributed by Outcast Films. The film is suitable for audiences high school-aged and up.
The Story of Plastic offers a good introduction to audiences who are new to understanding the global plastic pollution crisis. Striking footage shot over three continents illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash; rivers and seas clogged with waste; and skies choked with the poisonous runoff from plastic production and recycling processes with no end in sight. Original animations, interviews with experts and activists, and never-before-filmed scenes reveal the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and poisoning communities around the world – and the global movement rising up in response.
Microplastic Madness
Run time: 56 minutes
Click here to request a screening link from Cafeteria Culture.
Free to all K-12 schools that lead a plastic-free action like a Plastic Free Lunch Day.
Created to inspire kids, teachers and policy makers alike, this is the spark needed to grow a youth-led Plastic Free Future movement in schools across the world!
Microplastic Madness is the story of 56 fifth graders from P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn - living on the frontline of the climate crisis - whose actions on plastic pollution morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories. These eleven year olds dive deep into the root causes of plastic pollution.
Taking on the roles of citizen scientists and community advocates, they collect local data, lead community outreach, and use their own local data to inform policy by testifying and rallying at City Hall. Then they turned their focus back to school, taking ACTION in their cafeteria to eliminate all single-use plastic!
Guidelines for Hosting a Screening and Panel Discussion
Although you may choose to host a screening in person, you can also host both the screening and the panel virtually. Follow the steps below to help ensure that your event is a success.
1. Plan Ahead! Schedule your event as far in advance as possible so you have plenty of time to assemble a great panel and promote it to your community, your elected officials, and your local news media.
2. Request The Film ASAP. Use the links above to request a screening link for one of the films.
3. Line Up Your A-List Speakers. Choose two (or three max) eloquent and inspiring speakers who bring something unique to the table and get them to commit (send calendar invites and reminders for the run of show and the event itself, and make sure they accept them). You can choose either all local speakers or a mix of a local and non-local panelists. Ask your speakers to send you short bios and clear headshots to use in your event description and promotional materials.
Send flyers via email, post on social media and print/post in public spaces.
4. Collect RSVPs Online. Set up a way for people to RSVP online, whether it’s via Zoom registration, a Facebook event, Google Forms, an Action Network form or another tool. This gives you an easy way for you to follow up to share the link to watch the film online (ideally, two weeks in advance) if needed and makes it easier for you to follow up to remind people. It also is a great email list building tool for your Beyond Plastics local group or affiliated organization. If you are hosting a virtual event, you may want to allow people to submit questions for your panelists in advance to help get the discussion rolling and allow them to prepare.
5. Make A Virtual Flier Or Other Promotional Graphics. Use Canva (or another tool of your choice) to create a flier and a set of promotional graphics you can use to spread the word about your screening and panel online and offline. We recommend creating a set of social media-ready graphics in the following dimensions - 1600 x 900 pixels (suitable for Twitter and Facebook) and 1080 x 1080 pixels (suitable for Facebook and Instagram). Or we have ready-to-use graphics in our social media toolkit that you are welcome to use.
6. Promote, Promote, Promote. Send a listing to your local events calendar and newspapers, invite your local elected officials, send a note asking people who run environmental and other relevant listservs or lead local groups asking them to share the invitation with their networks, and send a number of reminders to your own contacts. You can share the trailer for the film with everyone if it’s helpful.
7. Create a Run of Show. Write out a clear schedule that leaves plenty of time for Q&A. Assign a moderator and someone to run the technology if you’re doing an online event. Ask your moderator and panelists to write their questions and key points out ahead of time. If your event is online, consider including at least one interactive element like a poll or survey. You can also ask people to submit questions when they register that your moderator and panelists can review in advance.
8. Schedule a Practice Run. Find a time that works for all your panelists and your moderator and tech person to hop on Zoom (or if you’re hosting an in-person event, meet up in person) a few days before your event to run through everything and practice the flow of the event.
9. Invite the Media. Issue a media advisory to let local reporters know about your event. Click here for a media advisory template you can customize.
10. Send Reminders! People are busy so send lots of reminders (including to your panelists). Don’t forget to share the link to watch the film virtually at least one week (or two) in advance to allow people plenty of time to watch before your panel. Ideally, you’ll send out the link to watch the film two weeks in advance and then send a reminder with log in to attend the panel a week before the event, another reminder the day before the event, and a final reminder the day of your event.
11. Follow Up. Send an email to everyone who signed up/attended after the panel to thank them, share the link to the recording (if you’ve done a virtual event or recorded your live event), and share more ways they can get involved in your work.
GET THE FACTS
Knowledge is power! Having facts at your fingertips will help you make your organizing around the film more effective. Here are a few different resources that may be helpful to you:
SAMPLE MEDIA ADVISORY
This is your chance to get some media coverage of your event so let reporters know it’s coming up and make your media advisory count using our tips below. Click here to use our media advisory template as a starting point.
Give it an eye-catching headline
Include contact information at the top
Highlight your impressive local speakers
Include a quote or two
Keep it short
SAMPLE RUN OF SHOW
One of the keys to a successful event is drafting a clear run of show to guide your schedule. Make sure that everyone knows which pieces they are responsible for during the event to avoid any confusion. Schedule a practice run through a week to several days before the event and ask your panelists to prepare their remarks in writing in advance, as well as any slides they may wish to present. Click here for a sample run of show document you can adapt.
SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT
Social media is a powerful tool to spread the word about your event and get more people to attend.
We’ve put together ready-to-use graphics to help you get the most out of your screening and panel event.
Browse the toolkit to get started now but please don’t be afraid to make your own materials as your work advances. Canva is a great tool for creating easy, professional-looking graphics.