THE DISTRIBUTION BULLETIN ISSUE #43
13/Aug/2020
THE DALAI LAMA'S
GLOBAL VIRTUAL PREMIERE
by Peter Broderick
A Virtual Premiere = Global Awareness + Worldwide Audiences + Substantial Donations
Rosemary Rawcliffe’s THE GREAT 14th shows that virtual screenings can achieve multiple goals if they are carefully planned and skillfully executed.
This singular documentary is the story of the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. It is the only film to ever feature the Dalai Lama as both subject and narrator, presenting an intimate view of his life story and personal philosophy. The film combines present day scenes with the Dalai Lama and very rare footage of him in Tibet in the 1950s and of his early years in India in the 1960s.
Its global virtual premiere, on June 27 and 28, 2020, celebrated the Dalai Lama’s 85th birthday. The film achieved worldwide awareness, attracting over 48,000 views from 146 countries in 48 hours. It was made available free as a gift for the Dalai Lama. Donations were also welcomed to create additional language versions of the film, which is now available in 21 subtitled versions (in addition to English). These versions honor the 21 Taras, the female enlightened Buddha.
Rosemary hired Keely Badger and the team at 360 MEDIA to help organize the virtual premiere and handle social media. With only a few weeks lead time, 360 MEDIA was able to spread the word widely. The response exceeded Rosemary’s expectations. She was thrilled to watch countries wake up and go online to view the film as the sun traveled around the world.
Rosemary previously considered charging to view the film, but was glad she decided to combine free availability with pay-what-you-wish donations. This decision earned her substantially more money than she would have made at $1 per view. It also generated more good will.
THE GREAT 14th was almost lost forever. During post-production, burglars broke into Rosemary’s office and stole her computers, monitors, servers, and the hard drives containing the film. Rosemary miraculously escaped complete disaster. The thieves missed one small drive that contained the picture-locked film, which was to be sent to the composer. Recovering this overlooked drive, Rosemary was able to complete the film just in time for its Mill Valley Film Festival premiere.
The global virtual premiere demonstrated the film’s true potential. There are an estimated 470 million practicing Buddhists worldwide. This is the only film in which the Dalai Lama tells his story in his own words. This premiere just reached the surface of her global audience. Rosemary understands that her film is a much-needed healing tool that the world needs now.
GLOBAL VIRTUAL PREMIERE
by Peter Broderick
A Virtual Premiere = Global Awareness + Worldwide Audiences + Substantial Donations
Rosemary Rawcliffe’s THE GREAT 14th shows that virtual screenings can achieve multiple goals if they are carefully planned and skillfully executed.
This singular documentary is the story of the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. It is the only film to ever feature the Dalai Lama as both subject and narrator, presenting an intimate view of his life story and personal philosophy. The film combines present day scenes with the Dalai Lama and very rare footage of him in Tibet in the 1950s and of his early years in India in the 1960s.
Its global virtual premiere, on June 27 and 28, 2020, celebrated the Dalai Lama’s 85th birthday. The film achieved worldwide awareness, attracting over 48,000 views from 146 countries in 48 hours. It was made available free as a gift for the Dalai Lama. Donations were also welcomed to create additional language versions of the film, which is now available in 21 subtitled versions (in addition to English). These versions honor the 21 Taras, the female enlightened Buddha.
Rosemary hired Keely Badger and the team at 360 MEDIA to help organize the virtual premiere and handle social media. With only a few weeks lead time, 360 MEDIA was able to spread the word widely. The response exceeded Rosemary’s expectations. She was thrilled to watch countries wake up and go online to view the film as the sun traveled around the world.
Rosemary previously considered charging to view the film, but was glad she decided to combine free availability with pay-what-you-wish donations. This decision earned her substantially more money than she would have made at $1 per view. It also generated more good will.
THE GREAT 14th was almost lost forever. During post-production, burglars broke into Rosemary’s office and stole her computers, monitors, servers, and the hard drives containing the film. Rosemary miraculously escaped complete disaster. The thieves missed one small drive that contained the picture-locked film, which was to be sent to the composer. Recovering this overlooked drive, Rosemary was able to complete the film just in time for its Mill Valley Film Festival premiere.
The global virtual premiere demonstrated the film’s true potential. There are an estimated 470 million practicing Buddhists worldwide. This is the only film in which the Dalai Lama tells his story in his own words. This premiere just reached the surface of her global audience. Rosemary understands that her film is a much-needed healing tool that the world needs now.