#ForTheGhosts

Community Screenings Campaign Winds Down

Up Next: Impact Assessment! 

Produced and Distributed by LizMars Productions

 

Supported by the Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund

Supported by VegFund

Time to Stop, Take Stock

Since the film’s release 17 months ago, I have been on the frontlines with The Ghosts In Our Machine conducting Q&As, interviews, attending screenings, devising distribution strategies, distributing community screenings, and forming and strengthening alliances with stakeholders. It’s been an all consuming and unforgettable journey to ground zero of the animal protection/rights/welfare/ movement.

As part of the Community Screenings tour, I have been fortunate to attend 24 events and participate in meaningful discussions with engaged audiences about animal rights and about the art and activism of documentary filmmaking.  I have travelled extensively with the talented photographer, animal activist, and human star of the film, my friend Jo-Anne McArthur. It’s been humbling and infinitely inspiring to experience the groundswell of people around the world, working to change the world, for animals.

Featured Quotes by Hosts of Community Screenings

ALDF gathered in Hollywood, California with local attorneys, SALDF chapter members, and local supporters. This screening celebrated the partnership between ALDF and Ghosts to mutually promote the film and ALDF’s Animal Bill of Rights. After the film, ALDF hosted a Q&A session with Jo-Anne McArthur, the human protagonist in Ghosts… We find solidarity with Jo-Anne’s experience in the first half of the film. We know her frustration all too well when she faces rejection from a mainstream agency because they can’t sell her photographs to the big publishers. Our hearts ache when she must leave the animals behind, when we think of the ones that cannot be saved. But towards the end of Ghosts, Jo-Anne delivers an important message for all of us in this field—despite all of the horrors she has witnessed and documented, she still has hope… “I’m trying to save the world,” she whispers, as if the thought is too radical to say out loud. We are with you Jo-Anne. We are trying to save the world too.

– Hollywood, California. April 3rd, 2014. 200 attendees.
Animal Legal Defense Fund – Student Chapter

I showed the film after Empty The Tanks Worldwide, a protest going on all over the world against marine-life captivity and exploitation. We protested Sea Life Park here on Oahu with some folks from Sea Shepherd and Ocean Defender Hawaii, a local conservation group. Many of the protesters made it to the film afterward, so when a few of them mentioned how slow progress is, or how animal use is so culturally ingrained, I reminded them that we were just protesting something that is also culturally ingrained! If marine captivity can change, so can other areas of animal use and abuse. I feel like Ghosts reminded everyone that ALL forms of animal oppression intersect.

– Honolulu, Hawaii. May 24^th, 2014. 50 attendees.
Presented by Alexis Thomas.

Community Screenings – Hawaii

Earthmovies proudly hosted the Scottish premiere of the award-winning The Ghosts in Our Machine at Stereo Café, with an amazing turnout for the film! Lots was happening! Free vegan food snacks, a raffle with great prizes, info stalls and a panel discussion with film director Liz Marshall, who came all the way from Canada, as well as with Tatiana Heise from Animal Aid. After that there was some fabulous live music entertainment by Blochestra, a massive neighbourhood orchestra band!

 – Glasgow, Scotland. July 19^th, 2014. 100 attendees.
Presented by EarthMovies, Glasgow University Vegan Society.

Grateful

Thanks to the Hot Docs Accelerator Program, Caitlin Rodger has been with my company for a year, she started as an intern and accelerated in her role to become the Community Screenings Campaign Coordinator. Thanks Caitlin for your commitment, care, and attention to detail. I could not have conducted this campaign without you!

It has been a deeply rewarding and educational year working as the Coordinator of the #ForTheGhosts Community Screenings Campaign. I have helped Liz Marshall / LizMars Productions distribute 75 international screenings!  Thank you to all the hosts who worked so hard in bringing The Ghosts In Our Machine to their communities, your enthusiasm and passion is inspiring.  As the campaign winds down now, I am moving onwards to new projects, and wish the Ghosts film continued momentum in its reach and impact around the world.

– For The Ghosts, Caitlin M. Rodger

And, Adam Singer, intern Coordinator, recently joined the team to assist with wrapping up the campaign:

I’m from Johannesburg, South Africa. I moved to Toronto three years ago to pursue a career in the film and television industry in North America. I am in my final year at York University in the Film Production program. I earned an internship with LizMars Productions through my participation in the Hot Docs Accelerator Program for young emerging filmmakers. Working for a passionate, dedicated and successful filmmaker such as Liz further drives my ambitions as a filmmaker myself. Coordinating the Community Screenings campaign has been, and is, a thrill.

– Adam Singer

My heartfelt thanks to the team, the hosts, audiences, fans, supporters, and to the project’s partners.
With your combined support Ghosts took flight; she has a very large wingspan.

For the Ghosts,

Liz Marshall

Filmmaker and self-professed obsessed grassroots distribution maverick
LizMars Productions | Ghosts Media

List of Hosts in alphabetical order: Feb 2014 – Sept 2014

Action for Animals – Seattle, Washington

Alexis Thomas – Honolulu, Hawaii

Allyson Dwyer  – Red Bank, New Jersey

Anima – Copenhagen, Denmark

Animal ACTivists of Philly – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Animal Equality – London, United Kingdom

Animal Justice Party – Melbourne, Australia

Animal Legal Defense Fund – Oakland, California

Animal Liberation ACT – Canberra, Australia

Ann Arbor District Library – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Appetite for Change – Stanford, California

April Meddick – Grovedale, Australia

Basisgruppe Tierrechte – Bern, Switzerland

Berkshire Voters for Animals – Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Big Cat Rescue – Tampa, Florida

Bristol Animal Rights Collective – Bristol, United Kingdom

Clayoquot Sound Community Theatre Association – Tofino, British Columbia

Cleveland VegFest – Cleveland, Ohio

Compassion Over Killing – Washington, DC

Compassionate and Sustainable Consuming – Northfield, Minnesota

Conscious 108 – Johannesburg, South Africa

Consuming for Change – Phoenix, Arizona

CUNY Law Student Animal Legal Defense Fund – Long Island City, New York

Djurens Rätt (Animal Rights Sweden) – Sollefteå, Sweden

Djurrattsalliansen (The Animal Rights Alliance) – Stockholm, Sweden

Djurrattsalliansen (The Animal Rights Alliance) – Uppsala, Sweden

Earthmovies – Glasgow, United Kingdom

Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down – Orland, California

Farm Sanctuary Hoe Down – Watkins Glen, New York

Florence Yoga – Florence, Massachusetts

FOOD FIGHT! Vegan Grocery – Portland, Oregon

Freedom Hill Sanctuary – Goodwood, Australia

Friends of Animals – Toronto, Ontario

Friends of Animals – Victoria, British Columbia

Give Back Yoga Foundation – Rhinebeck, New York

Grand Rapids Veg Meetup – Grand Rapids, Michigan

Healthy You Network – Tucson, Arizona

Humane Society of the United States, South Texas College of Law – Houston, Texas

Hunt Saboteurs Association – Portland, Oregon

Indiana Animal Rights Alliance – Indianapolis, Indiana

Indy Veggie Meet-up Group – Indianapolis, Indiana

Institute for Human-Animal Connection – Denver, Colorado

Keiko Krahnke and Fort Vegan – Fort Collins, Colorado

Little Oak Sanctuary – Canberra, Australia

Lompoc Vegan Society – Lompoc, California

Louisville Vegetarian Initiative – Sellersburg, Indiana

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art – Seoul, South Korea

NebenrolleNatur – Hinteregg, Switzerland

New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) – Boston, Massachusetts

Niagara Veg Fest – St. Catherines, Ontario

Noor Cultural Centre & Green Sacred Spaces – Toronto, Ontario

Northeast Florida Veg Society – Jacksonville, Florida

Northern Vegan Festival – Blackpool, United Kingdom

OPEN CINEMA: Connecting the Docs – Toronto, Ontario

OPEN CINEMA: Connecting the Docs – Victoria, British Columbia

People for Animal Welfare – Stanford, California

Rachel Brugeman – Shenectady, New York

Rice Animal Rights and Rice Ethnographic Film Society – Rice University – Houston, Texas

Sacramento Animal Rights Group – Sacramento, California

Student Animal Legal Defense Fund at University of British Columbia – Vancouver, British Columbia

Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter at University of California, Irvine, School of Law – Hollywood, California

Student Animal Legal Defense Fund at University of Victoria – Victoria, British Columbia

Sun-Ray Cinema – Jacksonville, Florida

Svensk mat och miljöinformation in partnership with ABF – Stockholm, Sweden

Sydney Nursing School – Sydney, Australia

The Hard & Soft Yoga Institute – Rhinebeck, New York

The Rookery – Kitchener, Ontario

Tier-im-fokus – Bern, Switzerland

Toronto 30th Veg Food Festival – Toronto, Ontario

Triangle Chance for All  – Chapel Hill, North Carolina

University of Louisville Eco-Reps – Louisville, Kentucky

University of Louisville Group Recycling and Sustainability Solutions (GRASS) – Louisville, Kentucky

University of Southern Maine – College of Arts, Humanities and Sciences, Women and Gender Studies Program, Criminology Program – Portland, Maine

University of Northern Colorado and the International Film Series – Greeley, Colorado

Uplands PEAK Sanctuary – Sellersburg, Indiana

Veg Rehoboth – Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Vegan Ireland: The Vegan Society of Ireland – Dublin, Ireland

Vegan Ireland: The Vegan Society of Ireland – Kilkenny, Ireland

Vegane Gesellschaft Schweiz – Hinteregg, Switzerland

Vegetarians of Highpark – Toronto, Ontario

Vegfest UK – London, United Kingdom

VegMichigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Western Massachusetts Animal Rights Advocates (WMARA) – Florence, Massachusetts

Western Massachusetts Animal Rights Advocates (WMARA) – Pittsfield, Massachusetts

While You Were Sleeping – Cape Town, South Africa

Willowite Animal Sanctuary – Grovedale, Australia

World Society for the Protection of Animals Dalhousie University – Halifax, Nova Scotia

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