Community Cinema Audiences Get the First Glimpse of Half the Sky

The countdown to the national broadcast of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide has begun!

Before the 2-night film series hits your local public television stations October 1st and 2nd, it’s touring the country on the Community Cinema circuit. More than 100 theaters, art houses, public libraries, universities and museums are hosting sneak-peak preview screenings of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide throughout the month of September. Each screening is one of a kind--highlighting different themes from the full-length film, such as maternal mortality, education, gender-based violence, sex-trafficking, forced prostitution, or economic empowerment, and incorporating speakers from local organizations to facilitate discussion.

 

Connecting all the events nationwide is a fervor to get involved and make a difference! From D.C. to Honolulu, people are sharing with us the ways they’re moved to act by creating commitment cards. What’s a commitment card, you ask? A commitment card is a promise to others and a reminder to yourself that you want to be an agent of change for women and girls everywhere. You can create one by downloading a card and writing down one way you want to take action, such as volunteering, educating others, or hosting an event. Share your commitment with us by taking a picture with it and posting it to http://www.facebook.com/communitycinema. All summer long, people have been knocking on our door asking if they can host their own screening of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. 

We know that not everyone has access to a theater or four hours to host a viewing party, so we created a Salon Toolkit with a 40-minute version of the film and an organizer’s guide with promotional materials, discussion prompts, and ways to get involved. A salon is a mini-screening designed for small groups to watch and discuss the film in their living room, boardroom or elsewhere. Women and Girls Lead partners, such as US National Committee for UN Women, CARE, Women’s World Banking, ManUp, Futures Without Violence, have already started to organize salons across the country. If you want to host one yourself, pick up a Salon Toolkit at a Community Cinema event. Be forewarned: Quantities are limited and demand is high! To stay on top of everything that’s happening leading up to the broadcast of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, you can sign up for the text list and we’ll deliver updates, event info, and exclusive content directly to your mobile phone. To automatically subscribe, simply text the keyword HALF to 31-31-31, or enter your name and mobile phone number right here.