MANNA FROM HEAVEN
5 THINGS YOU CAN DO FOR THE 5 SISTERS AND YOUR AFFILIATE
1. Send emails to your volunteers, homeowners, sponsors, and other partners telling them about Habitat’s partnership with Five Sisters Productions, Manna From Heaven‘s release, and special events you have planned for your affiliate.
As you know, most people require at least three exposures to information before they retain it. Start your emails early – a couple of weeks before the events!
Create your own or Julie will send you an easy cut and paste Habitat focused email.
2. Call your local paper, radio stations, television stations and other press and arrange interviews and appearances for you and the Burtons.
One or more of the Burtons will try to be in each new market on opening weekend. All of the Burtons of Five Sisters Productions are also available for phone interviews prior to their arrival in your market.
Secular and non-secular publications have been very interested in the family aspect and uniqueness of MANNA FROM HEAVEN, the Habitat for Humanity partnership, and will publish event announcements free of charge.
In each of the markets MANNA has opened, the Burtons have made multiple appearances on local television morning, mid-day and evening news and entertainment programs. Each time, they spoke about Habitat for Humanity and the local affiliates. They are also frequent guests on talk radio, top-forty, country, adult contemporary, NPR, and religious oriented stations. Their appeal is universal!
3. Coordinate groups to come to specific screenings.
The Habitat for Humanity International benefit screening will take place on Friday of opening weekend in each market. The screening will be held at approximately 7:00. A theater location will be selected based upon affiliate/chapter involvement. We would appreciate all affiliates sharing information about this screening. The success of this screening and the other screenings on the opening weekend will set the stage for the success of the film and length of its run in your market. The longer it runs in your market, the longer you have to receive press, schedule fund-raisers, and coordinate special events and appearances.
You can also designate opening weekend screenings as special Habitat screenings where you bring together church, corporate and community partners for the opportunity to have a question & answer session with the filmmakers following the movie.
We welcome you to have a representative attend to give highlights about your affiliate.
4. Disperse MANNA FROM HEAVEN fliers and posters to local churches, schools, businesses, retirement centers/homes, grocery stores, etc.
Many churches have placed notices about the movie and/or a special screening in their bulletins. We have sample bulletin announcements for you to share.
The Burtons welcome any introductions you can make. Any assistance you can provide in disseminating posters and fliers is greatly appreciated.
5. Help line up volunteers to help at the MANNA FROM HEAVEN and Habitat table at each theatre.
Volunteers are needed to work opening weekend for approximately 3-hour shifts beginning at approx. 1:30 at the theater. Volunteers can share information about Habitat and your affiliate. Please share you volunteer contacts and ideas with Julie for scheduling.
Or create an idea of your own that will get the word out!.
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A note from the Burton sisters:
These days, distribution rests upon weekly ticket sale totals. MANNA FROM HEAVEN, as a small independent film, is given a week at a time — if it does not earn a certain level of ticket sales, it will be dropped by the theater. We are relying on grassroots word-of-mouth to keep it in the theaters and appreciate your help!
We sisters hope to prove to the film industry that there is a desire in the marketplace for feel-good, independent movies with a mature cast. Hollywood looks at box office results for types of movies to make in the future. If MANNA can show a respectable distribution across the country, then more movies like it will be made. In essence, every person can influence the types of American movies being made and offered to the public. By going on the opening weekend in particular (or at least early on in the movie’s opening), people are, in fact, ‘voting’ for more movies like that. With the current focus for movie distribution based on weekend box office reports, people have the power to ‘vote’ at the box office and influence future Hollywood decision.
We appreciate your help in making MANNA FROM HEAVEN a success in our hometown market of Buffalo!
The Burton sisters
Maria, Jennifer, Ursula, Gabrielle & Charity
