Public screenings are events where a UNBC department or organization hosts a film and invites the general public to attend.These screenings are not covered by the Educational or Fair Dealing provisions in the Copyright Act, the Library's subscriptions, or UNBC's Audio Cine and Criterion entertainment licences.
When arranging a public screening, be very clear about whether your audience will be in person, online, or both. Anything beyond in-person viewing, such as streaming the film through Teams or Zoom, needs to be discussed and arranged with the film's rights holder first. Showing the film to an online audience will usually cost extra.
Public screenings are usually a few hundred dollars each. For this reason, it is a good idea to seek sponsorship from university departments or community organizations.
We need at least 4 to 6 weeks to help arrange a public screening. Many documentaries are from small, independent producers and finding their distributors can take time. Current documentaries are likely to still be in their screening circuit. This means they won't be available for purchase except directly through their production teams. Films that have not yet premiered in Canada may be unavailable until a later date.
If you would like assistance setting up a public screening, please provide as much information as possible about the film and desired screening date(s). More details on screening timelines are available here
Barbara Willmer, the Library Technical Assistant for Copyright, can be reached at libcopyright@unbc.ca or (250)960-6057. She can answer questions about showing films on campus, and help liaise with copyright holders if needed.
