Hosting a film screening

In October 2025, Grime Ethics Media hosted its first film screening: Interface at the Esquire Theatre in Cincinnati. I had hosted music events before, but never rented a theater or sold tickets. These are my notes for anyone who wants to do the same.

Get permission first

Interface was the easy case. I sent the animator a message, and he gave me the green light.

Most films don’t work that way. For anything with a distributor, you have to find out which licensing agency handles its public screenings and work out a licensing agreement with them before you book a room. Sometimes that means a deal for several films or several showings, not just one night.

Either way, have permission before you ask about a date. The theater never asked me for proof, but I told them up front.

To write: how you chose Interface.

When licensing falls through

My second attempt shows the harder case. In June 2026, I tried to license the 1983 film of The Wind in the Willows for a single Sunday matinee, as a birthday gift for my dad that would also be open to the public.

• The first company I reached held the film’s non-theatrical rights, but not the theatrical rights in the US. A ticketed screening in a theater is theatrical.
• They referred me to the company that did. Two days later the answer came back: a paid screening would need too many extra payments and approvals.
• Their suggestion was to make it non-theatrical instead: a free screening for a non-paying audience, licensed through the first company.

So rights to one film can be split between companies, by country and by type of screening, and whether you sell tickets changes which license you need. Ask early. I gave myself about a month, and that wasn’t enough.

To write: what happened next, and whether you ran the free screening.

Book the theater

The Esquire calls this a “bring your own film” rental. They cancel one of their regular showtimes and give you the room, so the price depends on the seat count, the day of the week, and the time. Their range ran from a few hundred dollars to well over a thousand.

I asked for a Thursday evening and a room for 75 to 100 people. They offered a mid-sized auditorium with 74 seats, for a three-hour block from 7 to 10 PM: doors at 7, a short introduction, and the film at 7:30. The rental was $450, with the theater handling ticket sales.

From my first email about the date to the screening was about seven weeks. The theater needed three things from me:

• A signed rental agreement
• Artwork and copy for the ticket page
• The film

Deliver the film

Theaters want a DCP, a Digital Cinema Package, not a video file. I had a 6.9 GB 4K MP4 and assumed converting it took expensive software. It doesn’t. DCP-o-matic is free, and it turned the file into a valid 159 GB package.

• I put the technical specs in one email for the projectionist: runtime, resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio, and audio layout.
• My file was 30 frames per second, not the usual 24, so I said so early. Their 2K projectors played the 4K, 30 fps package without trouble.
• I delivered it on a USB drive, in an envelope marked with my name, the rental date, and the film. They asked for a drive formatted as NTFS on a PC, not on a Mac.
• I dropped it off about three weeks ahead. The theater tested it and gave the all clear a week before the show.

Price the tickets

I planned on $16, decided that was too much, and lowered it to $13 on the agreement before I signed. Thirteen is also a spooky number, which suited a horror film in October.

Write the copy

I sent a short description for the listing and a longer one for the event page. Their site could only show one, with no formatting, so write a single version that works everywhere. Check the page on a phone, and click the trailer. Mine didn’t play at first.

Get the word out

I started promoting once the ticket page was final, about two and a half weeks before the screening.

• A Facebook event, with the film’s description and its art references
• A Facebook Live video on the day of the screening
• Posts on Instagram and YouTube

The day before, 15 tickets had sold. We finished at 56.

To write: what actually sold tickets, and how many sold at the door.

The night

I asked for three things the day before, and the theater said yes to all of them:

• A microphone for a short introduction before the film
• The back row held for me and my friends
• The film’s title on the marquee

To write: what the room felt like, and what you’d prepare better.

The numbers

• Seats sold: 56 of 74
• Box office: $731, or $709.63 after Cincinnati’s admission tax
• Theater rental: $450
• Left over: $259.63

I never paid anything up front. The theater took the rental out of ticket sales and mailed a check for the rest.

What I’d do differently

To write.