French Movie Night

Overview

Hosting a Chapter organized French movie night is a fairly simple event to run that offers many benefits. It can help promote fun French language experiences with children. It can help build stronger relationships between parents and also between schools in a Chapter.

Tips

• Pick a good date. A Thursday evening can work well to get a nice crowd. Since many children will be young, keep the start time early.

• Choose a movie. It’s not always that easy to find an appropriate “G” movie, but choosing a movie that most children have seen in English will help them enjoy the experience. They will know the plot of the movie and it will be easier to follow in French.

• Visit a web site like Blockbuster to see what new DVD titles will be available for the date you choose.

• Make sure the DVD you rent or purchase has a French soundtrack since some do not!

• You’ll need a projector-type screen with a DVD player and and sound system. Many schools own this type of equipment, but consider that in the school you choose as the host and make sure you can borrow it without problem. You may also need to ask for some technical help to set it up.

• Promote your event with take-home flyers, announcements, mentions at school council meetings and word-of-mouth using school liaisons.

• Add snacks! You might want to avoid sugary, messy soft drinks, but you can sell water and popcorn or chips. Rent or borrow a popcorn popper and make your own for a real ‘movie theatre’ feel.

• Showing a movie for free in the school does not violate copyright laws, but you cannot charge an admission fee for this event. Selling snacks can pay for costs incurred.

•You’ll want to be clear that children require parent/adult supervisors to stay. If you’re not clear, some parents might get the impression that they can drop off their kids and come back when the movie is over.

•Blankets and stuffed animals are welcome! Rather than using chairs, encourage kids to bring a blanket to sit on. It’s more comfortable and less noisy.

• You’ll need to limit admittance based on the gym’s capacity or the number of volunteers you have. Be sure to include on your flyer the maximum number of movie-goers that you can admit.

• First-come, first serve seating with a ‘doors open at x time’ encourages families to be on time.

• You will need to carefully count attendees as they enter so you know exactly how many people you have admitted. You may have to turn away families once you are ‘full’.

• Have CPF materials on hand at the front door.You may be able to recruit new members!

• You will need volunteers to admit guests, sell snacks, help with set up and clean up, run equipment and to supervise the gym. At times, you may need to ask children to quiet down or sit down so other children can hear and see.

• Make sure washrooms are well marked.

• Before the movie starts you can take a minute to welcome people and tell them that the movie is put on by their CPF chapter. Tell them that they can become a member on their way out.

• You will need a permit to use the school, which can most likely be done through the school board. There will also likely be a fee for the permit. You may have to pay for the gym.

• You may need to provide the proof of insurance (certificate of insurance) from CPF to the school board. Please find the PDF form on the CPF (Ontario) web site (in “For Chapters” section)