Arranging a Mini-festival

Film is a great way to get people talking about a subject. Everyone can watch a film and everyone will have an opinion of some sort at the end.

1. Why do this? Identify your objectives and target audiences

Why do you want to arrange the festival? Probably because you agree with us that Norway is part of a globalised world, a world where international corporations are often as important as governments in affecting the conditions in which people live and work. As concerned citizens we should be part of the debate required to ensure human rights are respected by businesses; this includes Norwegian companies at home and abroad and other firms that manufacture and transport the products we purchase.

The films we have chosen are a powerful tool for clarifying and humanising the issues that need to be understood to play an active role in personal life-style and political choices that might help to ensure human rights are not abused by companies.

Following each screening you arrange, attendees can discuss the issues, talk to and maybe work with local activists to highlight business and human rights issues in their area, and take action by writing letters to local and national leaders, speaking with press or planning future events. While we have offered suggestions in our 'basis for a Discussion Guide'; specific post-screening actions can be determined by the host of each screening, or by the organisation or network supporting a set of screenings.

The costs involved in putting on a mini-festival are minimal, and you might even be able to attract some local funding to help you market and arrange your event.

2. Select a location and event format

Where will your event be held?
In a living room? Good for informal gatherings of friends. But why not include a stranger? Or ensure you invite someone with a connection to the film you are screening that evening?
At a community centre? Good for including everyone in a local community and getting a really good discussion going that might attract a journalist or local politician.
At work? Are your colleagues in need of a new way of talking together about wider issues than their daily routines? A brilliant way of bringing teams together and stimulating cross departmental dialogue.
At school? You could arrange a minifestival as an extra-curricula activity, it will touch on many different subjects and you could invite local employers, NGO workers as well as parents and friends.

Have you got the right equipment. A normal DVD player will be sufficient, but you must ensure the sound system is good enough for the size of your venue. You will need a projector to connect to the player. Can you darken the room enough to screen a film? Do you need a microphone for anyone speaking after the event?

Decide what will happen after the screening. An informal discussion using our Discussion Guide? Or perhaps a guest speaker or small panel featuring lecturers, local business/shop employees, union members, or people from the countries who can connect the film to business and human rights issues in your community?

3. Order the films - register and pay

We want it to be easy for you to show the films and arrange your own minifestival. and we deeply understand the financial constraints of small organisations and individuals. UD Refleks have helped us subsidise the cost of the DVD production, but we need to cover postage and other small outlays such as acquiring the rights to the films and design, as well as finding ways to support the Human Rights, Human Wrongs Festival and Mini-festival initiative in the future.

Therefore we ask for your understanding in donating at the level you think most applicable to your financial capability. Remember that a local business or organisation might be able to help with the small amounts we are asking for, and that this will make a big difference to the longevity of this project.

The films are sent out as a pack of three- we do not send individual films.

Click here to register and pay

Postage for everyone interested in arranging a minifestival is the same: 65 NOK.

The following prices are a guide. If you can afford to donate more to the festival concept we will be eternally grateful and appreciate your support to this first year of the concept.

- Individuals arranging a home event (house party) - 250 NOK
- Mini-festival screenings at schools, libraries and local community centres - 400 NOK
- Mini-festival events at business work places and local cinemas - 750 NOK

Payment can be made by credit card (using Paypal- no account needed) or by bank transfer - please see payment details on registration page.

Special note on paid admission: These films are not designed for events where you charge admission, although of course we understand that you may want to cover costs of renting a venue and making posters for example. If you want to do an event with paid admission you must not make a profit- that would break the conditions of the screening rights we have negotiated.

Special note for educators, librarians and student groups: These films are licensed for community screenings. Classroom and library lending use requires the educational- licensed DVD. Student groups, however, can normally use the films for extra-curricular screenings but need the educational version for academically sponsored events. We can arrange the educational license of the films if you contact us.

4. Get the word out and publicise the event

Publicity helps get people to attend your event, and also raises awareness for those who can't be there! You may want to spread the word through mass e-mails and through social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. You may also want to work with partner organisations, put posters and flyers up in your community, or even send press releases to local media.

We've created a number of graphics that may be useful when advertising your event. Please help by using the Human Rights Human Wrongs logo and acknowledge UD Refleks for their support as part of your marketing.

Human Rights Human Wrongs logo

The following logos are in web-resolution. High res images can be downloaded from the individual film websites.

Festival graphic element one
Darwin Nightmare graphic
Shadow of the Holy Book graphic
China Blue graphic

5. Preparing for the event and materials

Discussion guides: To prepare for the post-screening discussion, you may want to download and read our basis for making a Discussion Guide that will make it easy to lead a targeted discussion about issues in the films and how to take action following your event.

This will be developed over the summer and a more comprehensive document will be available for download later in 2009.

Other materials: Decide what other materials you'd like to distribute to audience members. A list of questions related to your local community or work place? A summary of the Stortingsmelding from January 2009?

Test your equipment: Prior to the event, test your equipment to be sure that everything (picture, sound and everything else) is working properly.

6. The event itself

If you have a reasonably sized audience we suggest giving a brief introduction before the screening to let people know that there will be a post-screening discussion, and to encourage them to stick around. If you have any special guests, such as local politicians or business people or others with particular specialised knowledge, you may want to announce that as well.

Once the film is over distribute any other materials, as people may leave before the end of the discussion.

The discussion guide will help you frame questions and lead a targeted discussion about issues in the film, in your community, and how to take action following your event. Be sure to leave enough time for the discussion, as this will be your opportunity to connect the films to issues in your community and to encourage people to take action

7. After the event

Please send us information about your event including the date, time and location, a link to your website if relevant, any tips for others considering arranging their own Mini-festival and a few sentences about the discussion. You can use the feedback form.

We will post your event on our Mini-festival page, and share feedback with Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway.

Return to main Minifestival web page