Screenings

  • Western Washington University

    Western Washington University

    Wednesday, October 23, 2024

    12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

  • Elon University

    Thursday, February 29, 2024

    6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

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HOST A SCREENING

Take An Active Role In Spreading The Film To A Larger Community By Purchasing A DVD Or Streaming Link (Or Blu-Ray Or DCP) With Public Performance Rights And Organizing Your Own Screening. Select What’s Right For You:

NON-PROFITS / COMMUNITY GROUPS: Purchases under this category may be screened (or streamed) publicly at community groups, advocacy organizations and other non-profits, as well as government agency field offices (see below for headquarters rates). It includes a public performance license at one facility only (single events with license to charge admission) or, for virtual events, a 24-hour link to allow your audience members to stream the film on their devices at home.

HIGH SCHOOLS / MIDDLE SCHOOLS / PUBLIC LIBRARIES: Purchases under this category may be screened publicly at middle and high schools and public libraries. It includes a public performance license at one facility only (single events with license to charge admission) or, for virtual events, a 24-hour link to allow your audience members to stream the film on their devices at home.

COLLEGES / UNIVERSITIES / FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES: Purchases under this category may be publicly screened at colleges and academic institutes, foundations, and for-profit companies, as well as government agency headquarters and presidential libraries. It includes a public performance license at one facility only (single events with license to charge admission) or, for virtual events, a 24-hour link to allow your audience members to stream the film on their devices at home.

Be sure to click on the Toolkit button below for materials you can use in publicizing your event. The Toolkit includes a press release template, social media templates, graphics, behind-the-scenes pictures, and several other files. When you order the film, you’ll be prompted at checkout to specify if your preferred film format is DVD, Blue-ray, DCP, streaming link, or digital download.

For RPCV groups planning on hosting screenings: Email us to find out more. Friends of South Africa put on a fabulous event in early 2021. The group has graciously agreed to share their planning documents with other RPCV groups interested in putting together a Towering Task event. Click here to access those documents.

We are also working with communities and organizations to find ways to gather virtually and see this film together. E-mail us if you are interested in a virtual community screening where your audience views the film online and can then come together afterwards for a Q&A on Zoom or a similar platform.

ORDER FILM

Screenings

FILM FOR COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES, GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTER OFFICES & FOR-PROFIT GROUP USE
FILM FOR COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES, GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTER OFFICES & FOR-PROFIT GROUP USE
$300.00
Purchase
FILM FOR NON-PROFITS & COMMUNITY GROUP USE
FILM FOR NON-PROFITS & COMMUNITY GROUP USE
$150.00
Purchase
FILM FOR HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, & LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY USE
FILM FOR HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, & LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY USE
$85.00
Purchase

SCREENING FAQ

  • To suggest a venue or showing of the documentary (public or internal to an organization, virtual or in-person), e-mail us. We will add your venue suggestion to the ever-expanding venue list. We will support you in whatever way we can to figure out the best time, place, and format for the showing. Then purchase (or have the venue purchase) your public screening license at: https://www.peacecorpsdocumentary.com/publicusepurchase

    Once you have decided on a showing and purchased the screening license online, we will send you the license form and the program (if you need a different format than a streaming link, please, let us know).

    For Returned Peace Corps Volunteer groups, please, check out question #15 for additional tips on planning screenings.

  • We are adding venues to the venue list every day, ranging from university screenings, middle and high schools screenings, community and staff meetings, RPCV reunions, and conferences, to retirement community screenings, film festivals, special events (public and internal), art house theaters, and libraries and many more. Every showing has its own unique style (determined by the opportunities at the venue and the local community needs/interests). Possibilities for showing formats include:

    • Evening showing (perhaps with reception)

    • All day event (showing of the first half in the morning, the second half in the afternoon)

    • A showing as part of a seminar series

    • Showings as workshops at conferences

    • Showings in classrooms and offices

    • Virtual event: participants receive an online link to view the film, then gather for a virtual Q&A (possibly including the filmmakers) afterwards

    Examples of opportunities to add value to showings:

    • Panel discussion

    • Symposium

    • Speaker

    • Production team member at event

    (Some of these value added elements may require a fee – such as speakers – which a venue may be interested in sponsoring: i.e. some Universities have brought in our director to speak and visit classrooms.)

    The A Towering Task documentary program is a wonderful opportunity to open up the dialogue about how America relates to the rest of the world, how we define global citizenship, service, and peace.

    Our goal is to take the conversation out of the echo chamber of the Peace Corps community and into the American public. So, yes, it is important for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to have the opportunity to see the film to learn the agency’s history, but the target audience for this documentary is the American public.

  • Yes. There is a $150 screening license fee for community groups ($85 for high schools and public libraries, $300 for larger events, colleges/universities, presidential libraries, and for-profit organizations) which entitles you to a public or group screening at your venue or virtually on the date requested. There also is a screening tool kit on our website that includes press release templates, social media templates, graphics and images, and more.

    You may use the documentary screening as a fundraiser for your own organization, partner with other non-profits, charge an entry fee, or make it a free or suggested donation event.

    The idea is to use the program as a tool to engage the community and bring together the various constituencies who otherwise might not work together.

  • The film is an hour and 50 minutes long. You can find a synopsis at our website at www.PeaceCorpsDocumentary.com.

  • There are several spots within the program where it is possible to stop the documentary to consider the story up to that point. However, to get the full story, it is best to watch the film all the way through.

  • A Towering Task is available right now. You can purchase a DVD or streaming copy from Amazon for personal use. Community and other public screenings (whether virtual or in-person) allow you to share the experience with colleagues and friends. If you know of an organization that would be interested in hosting such an event, please send us an email.

    Local PBS stations have been scheduling broadcasts since September of 2023 (call your local station if you would like them to schedule a broadcast).

  • To purchase the screening license and a copy of the film click here. If you let us know about your planned event, we can publicize the event on our website and make sure you have a copy of the film well in time for the screening.

  • The documentary will be available in several formats: DCP for cinemas, high definition (HD) video file for streaming, and DVDs.

    For virtual events, we will send you a link to a streaming video file. The video file will then be available for a 24-hour window (48-hours for events that take place in multiple timezones) during which your audience members can watch the film as many times as they want. Most virtual events also include a virtual meeting (on Zoom or a similar platform) where participants can then gather and discuss the film.

    For in-person events, most venues will have high definition projection capability. In that case, we can send you the streaming link. Some venues have DCP projection capability. In those cases we can either send a preformatted hard drive with the DCP on it, or we can send a link for download of DCP files. (In general, if you have the choice between HD and SD projection, you should always go for the highest possible resolution, i.e. HD.)

    The documentary will also be available on DVD. All you need to project a DVD is a DVD player, a projector, a sound system, and a screen.

  • There is a link to a digital tool kit on our website which includes press release templates, social media templates, graphics and images, as well as a discussion guide, synopsis, and more. The Tool Kit also includes a poster file for you to print or add to digital advertising for your event.

    Finally, you can use the trailer to generate interest. This trailer can be watched at our website at www.PeaceCorpsDocumentary.com. The YouTube link for the trailer is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMh31k-EDXM&t=6s

    Also, if you are planning on hosting a panel or discussion after the (virtual or in-person) screening, here is a great article with tips: https://medium.com/@nicolebanisterofficial/how-to-host-a-good-panel-936011e6c555

  • The venues or sponsoring organizations are welcome to hold on to the film, and they are also welcome to use it for future showings provided they obtain a license each time they screen the film.

    We are planning to develop lesson plans for colleges/universities, high schools, and middle schools. Then schools will be able to also integrate the film in some of their classes. Libraries may include the program in a film series, then add it to their catalog. Please, keep us posted on additional showings so we know at the end of the year how many showings there were.

    Also, for universities and libraries, the film is available through Kanopy.

  • DVDs and Streaming are available through Amazon and our distributor First Run Features.

  • A Towering Task had its broadcast premiere in the Spring of 2023 on Rocky Mountain PBS. It has since been scheduled on PBS stations across the country. Check your local listings to see whether a broadcast is scheduled in your area. And call your local station, if you would like them to schedule the film.

  • Screening venues can be as varied as museums, libraries, universities, conferences, film festivals, middle and high schools, federal, state, and local government agencies, community centers, and retirement communities. However, there are plenty more options that we haven’t even thought about. So, if you find yourself on a Zoom call with an organization whose members you think would be interested in a documentary about the Peace Corps, or on an AmTrak train or you are on a long-distance flight wishing you and your fellow travelers could watch A Towering Task, do two things: first of all, send an email to us to let us know about your idea for a new and different audience, and then send an email to the organization to request that they show A Towering Task. Our goal is to bring the Peace Corps back into the public discourse and reach as many viewers as possible.

  • At first, having a screening for your own group is important. All RPCVs should be aware of the agency’s history and hosting a screening (virtual or in-person) for your RPCV group will allow everyone to gather and discuss the Peace Corps’ past and future, as well as your group’s particular perspectives (For “Friends of” groups, this would be the country of service, for area groups it is the local community’s needs.). However, once your own group members are up to speed, it’s time to engage the American public.

    As Returned Peace Corps Volunteers we often get together and host events. So it is natural that we assume that we should be hosting these screenings for A Towering Task, as well. However, as the intended audience is the American public, it is important that we bring the screening opportunity to the various organizations and then let the organization take on the hosting. Ideally, the organization will make the screening open to the public and RPCVs can attend.

    With the organization taking the lead (and paying for the screening license), the RPCV group can then consult and support as is needed. The organization will feel more vested in the screening than if they were simply dealing with a space rental, and will likely engage more of their own constituents. In the case of universities, this means that multiple departments can be involved (political science, international studies, history, sociology/anthropology, development economics, public health, environmental studies, education, journalism, history, humanitarian engineering…). Professors and local luminaries may end be on a post-screening panel. Community leaders and alumni may join the event.

    The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer group of North Carolina has come up with some great templates when approaching universities for screenings. Click here for tips on reaching out to universities. And here you can find a phone script to make any cold calls easier. Lastly, click here for a template for a follow-up email to the university contact.

    Here is a quick check-list of things to consider:

    • Who are the local RPCVs that might be interested in the screening? Which RPCV groups should be involved?

    • Consider reaching out to the National Peace Corps Association to include the RPCV community on a national level. And NPCA can also help publicize your event.

    • If the event is at a university or college, consider inviting alumni of the college who are also RPCVs or former PC staff.

    • Be sure to publicize your event. Don’t just let your own mailing list know, but have the hosting venue reach out to their mailing list, create a listing on their events calendar, and engage their various partners and constituents. The Portland RPCV group and the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association were successful in reaching out to their local NPR station for free public service announcements. Consider any RPCVs that are connected to local media, bloggers, YouTubers, and social influencers. Help the venue get the word out far and wide beyond the RPCV happy hour list!

    • After your event, be sure to follow up with attendees. There may be people who would be interested to continue to work with your group and NPCA.

  • Consider approaching your local NPR station for a free public service announcement. Also, local TV stations and newspapers may be willing to do a report before or after the event. (Be sure to let them know well in advance.) Are there any bloggers or YouTubers in the area who might take an interest? The hosting venue may have an events calendar, a mailing list, or access to journalists and media.

    And, of course, we can publicize all events on our documentary website at https://www.peacecorpsdocumentary.com/screenings-event.

TOOLKIT

We will continue to add materials to this page, but this should get you started:

For RPCV Groups hosting screenings

Planning documents Friends of South Africa developed for their fabulous event.
You can use this as a template, use parts of it, or put together your own plans.