Any tips for someone really shy getting their theater to show Maji Love Kingdom?
Of course! Being one of these people myself, I can definitely help a bit. I won’t suggest anything regarding calling a cinema/convention/foreign film event because thats just not gonna happen for me, but if you are happy to call cinemas, do that maybe, but other digital ways of contacting are just as affective, and way less scary. Sorry in advance for long response, but I hope it helps!
1. Email contact the cinema/convention you’re aiming for. It can take a bit of digging to find their contact page on their website, but it’s worth it. I contacted 4 cinema chains, and 1 convention. I recieved responses from all cinemas, but still havent recieved a reponse from the convention. Cinema responses were generally “thats cool but we can’t do anything without permission from the international distributer” and sounded quite accepting of having a variety of films available. Some seemed like copy pasted templates, but others were more specific to my message.
Here is what I sent minus the things specific to me (some links from the other template that was floating around twitter a while ago that i cant find anymore), but obviously change it to reflect whoever you’re emailing. You can include movies you’ve seen there/good experiences you’ve had in the past, if you’ve noticed them playing anime movies etc. Make it personalised to you and the cinema if you can.
2. Email/contact Sentai Filmworks. Since a lot of cinemas said they needed contact rom the distributer, sentai is a great place to contact! I’ve been getting people to contact them since the movie was announced, and I’m glad it’s gone somewhere. They definitely seem to do their best to listen to fans, and are constantly adding new screenings and in reaching out to requested areas. Just today we’ve had a bunch more international places get confirmed screenings, so it doesnt seem to be slowing down.
You can contact sentai here. They have a specific ‘subject’ for ‘screening requests’ so I suggest you use that one. You might also eb able to DM them on twitter, and they’ve even responded to poeples replies on Maji Love Kigndom posts they make. You can use box office data, statistics, personal experience etc, whatever you think is applicable. Even a:
I’ve been a part of the Utapri fandom for (time) and I have been following your announcements of movie screenings in various countries. I would like to request one for (place) because (reasson). Thank you in advance, (Your Name).
3. Try Fan Force if its available. If you’re in one of the many countries fan force works in (see list here) then, if theyre successful in getting the movie in their database (they are currently in discussion with Sentai Filmworks) then anyone from these countries can start a screening for free near them. If you sell enough tickets, the screening goes ahead. There is no guarantee that Fan Force will be able to get the movie, but they advised me to create a screening so they could get in contact if/when that happens.
You don’t need to do any of the contacting of cinemas etc yourself and Fan Force will let cinemas know it is a concert movie and penlights/singing are encouraged. You do handle boosting the event and being at the door to the cinema collecting tickets but thats it. You also of course have to attend.
I understand some of that can sound daunting, but you can do what I’m doing, and plan to cohost with someone else from your area and cover eachothers weaknesses. If the screening goes ahead you can also plan a meetup before/after as well. Even if they cant get the movie, my emails with fan force have been great, they seem like a really amazing company, and they respons specifically to what you asked instead of using templates.
As for general tips, really you just gotta know that:
No one who works at these places will remember you or think badly of you for requesting a movie.
They don’t know who you are, and you won’t be judged for contacting via a contact page. Thats what its for.
Contact as many as you can, big and small places. You never know who might say yes.
Who knows, they could have had requests from other people, and you might be the tipping point for them actually doing something about it.
Maybe draft it in a separate document, just in case. If you want, you can leave it for a bit and come back to it later to check for any mistakes with fresh eyes.
Don’t pressure yourself to write an essay-style request if thats not your style or is too intimidating. Something is better than nothing.
