September 14, 2020 – Montclair Film today announced the launch of the new Montclair Film Virtual Cinema, powered by Eventive. The cinema, now available via mobile and desktop web browsers, as well as a new App for Apple TV and Roku devices, will be the home for all virtual screenings for the upcoming Montclair Film Festival (October 16-25, 2020) and will be available after the festival on a year-round basis, showcasing the best in new releases of art house, documentary, and local filmmaking on demand.
To launch the new service, Montclair Film is offering a free virtual screening of Ramona Diaz’s new film A THOUSAND CUTS for one week, starting today and ending Sunday, September 20. After September 20, Montclair Film will have other free content available until the 2020 Montclair Film Festival program is announced on October 2, 2020 so that patrons can explore the new Virtual Cinema system. Diaz’s A THOUSAND CUTS will also be included in the 2020 Montclair Film Festival program as the recipient of the 2020 David Carr Award. The film follows the journalist and 2018 Time Person of The Year Maria Ressa as she battles to report on the regime of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines. The film is available now at montclairfilm.org.
HOW IT WORKS
In order to access the free screening of A THOUSAND CUTS and try the new service on the platform ahead of the upcoming Montclair Film Festival, patrons will simply visit montclairfilm.org and order a free ticket for the film, as they would with any physical screening. They will then receive an email from Montclair Film confirming their purchase, followed by an e-mail from Eventive requiring users to register an Eventive account with the same e-mail they use at Montclair Film, followed by an email with a link to the film on the Eventive platform. Users will be asked register once on Eventive by using the same email address as their Montclair Film account. Once registered with the same e-mail, the film will be available in the user’s library on Eventive.
Once a ticket is acquired and the film has been accessed on Eventive, users with Apple TV or Roku will be able to download the new Montclair Film app from the Apple TV or Roku App Store. Simply search “Montclair Film” in the App Store, download and install the free app, and follow the onscreen instructions to link the app to the user’s existing Eventive account. Once linked, films that have been ordered will appear onscreen in the user’s library, ready to be enjoyed in high quality on their home theater system.
Patrons are encouraged to participate in this free launch in order to set up their accounts and explore the process for purchasing tickets and screening films ahead of the 2020 Montclair Film Festival. As previously announced, the 2020 Montclair Film Festival will feature a program of drive-in screenings, virtual screenings, special events, and conversations. The full program, schedule, and venues will be announced on October 2, 2020, with tickets on-sale to Montclair Film Members on October 5, and public tickets available October 8.
More information about the festival’s plans will be made available in the coming weeks, ahead of the full program announcement.
“Receiving this award named for a man who thought deeply about the role of non-legacy independent media and the convergence of journalism and technology in ‘our present future’ couldn’t be more appreciated,” said director Ramona Diaz. “A THOUSAND CUTS, in part, tells the story of journalist Maria Ressa whose career has brought her to this very intersection. And at a moment when the battle for facts that’s largely been enabled by technology is a fight to preserve our longheld beliefs of what is decent and fair and just, I am profoundly honored to accept the David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Storytelling from the Montclair Film Festival.”
“We are proud to work with Eventive to launch our new Virtual Cinema, which will provide our organization with the opportunity to not only showcase films during the festival, but as an ongoing platform for screening new releases at home, all year long,” said Montclair Executive Director Tom Hall. “We hope all of our patrons will use this week to test drive our new system with A THOUSAND CUTS, a film we are so proud to be sharing as the recipient of the festival’s 2020 David Carr Award.”
“I’m so excited about our partnership with Montclair Film – what a great way to fulfill Eventive’s mission of connecting more and more people with a better independent film experience. We’re really grateful to Tom Hall and the Montclair Film team for trusting us to deliver these terrific films to their audience wherever they may be,” said Iddo Patt, Co-Founder of Eventive.
ABOUT MONTCLAIR FILM
Montclair Film, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization connects filmmakers from around the region and world with audiences by presenting films and year-round programs that engage, educate, and entertain through the power of visual storytelling. The ninth annual Montclair Film Festival will take place from October 16-25, 2020. Our programs are made possible with funds from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism, as well as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, among many others. Montclair Film provides unique and meaningful ways to engage with diverse, creative, and sophisticated audiences and seeks sponsors for its signature spring film festival and other year-round programs that attract more than 46,000 annual attendees and generate more than 750 million media impressions yearly. For information about Montclair Film, visit www.MontclairFilm.org.
