How to host a Hoovie movie

Bring together friends and communities of interest to watch an incredible film and talk about it after, face-to-face.

Anyone can host! Our films are curated to get people talking, and we support you to bring people together.

We recently launched the first phase of a partnership with Side Door. Hosts can now enjoy robust new features and access to a broader audience. As part of phase one, the host experience will bridge both the Hoovie platform and Side Door’s. (Read more on our blog! And check out our current screenings here.)

How to host a Hoovie movie on Side Door

Select a film from Hoovie's catalog

We promise, they're all good!

Decide: movie club or solo screening?

Movie clubs bring people together for multiple film screenings.

Decide: Synchronous or Asynchronous Screening?

You and your guests can watch the film(s) in advance of the conversation(s), or together as a group.

Email Hoovie

Include your name, phone, selected film(s), synchronous or asynchronous, and the title of your movie club or screening.

Create a host profile on Side Door.

If hosting in a physical space for in-person screenings, set up a space profile. If hosting virtual screenings, set up a presenter profile.

Create Space Profile

Create Presenter Profile

“Connect” your Side Door profile with Hoovie’s artist profile

Now we can create screenings together! You choose the dates, number of tickets and price, and create the description of your screening(s).

Invite your people (we’ll invite ours too)

Tell them why you're excited to host! And why you chose the film(s).

Watch, discuss, mingle

Your role as host

Your role is to spread the word and focus on hosting a great experience for your guests (find tips in Side Door’s host toolkit).

Hoovie's role

We build the screening/club with you on Side Door, promote your event, and if requested we can support with programming (e.g. suggest a special guest).

Side Door's role

Side Door also promotes your event and ensures that everything runs smoothly on the technical side.

FAQs

Find answers to your questions below, and reach out to our team anytime.

Why host a Hoovie?

Bring the crew together

There’s truly something magic about watching a great film as a jumping off point for conversation.

Support indie filmmakers

Making a living as an indie filmmaker is harder than ever before. The average filmmaker recoups less than half what it cost to make a film, and most video-on-demand services pay pennies per view.

Hoovie ticket sales put real money in filmmakers’ pockets.

Make some extra $

Building community is an important job. Hoovie hosts keep 25% of ticket proceeds to go toward event costs.

How much work is involved in hosting a Hoovie?

In-person Hoovies can be in tiny venues for tiny crowds – say, 12 people in a condo living room – or in larger venues for larger crowds – say, 300 people in a church sanctuary.

Virtual Hoovies can be on a laptop or phone.

Your job as host entails: promotions, managing AV equipment and internet connection, and facilitating the experience from beginning to end.

How do ticket sales work?

Ticket sales are all done on Side Door’s platform in advance (no cash at the door).

We believe compensating people who build community (hosts) and create art (filmmakers) is essential to a healthy society, so:

Hosts keep 25% from every ticket sold.
Filmmakers are paid 40%.
Hoovie and SideDoor keep 35% to pay for event promotions, licensing, and the event management and streaming technology.

What kind of AV equipment do I need to host an IRL Hoovie?

That’s up to you really. We love to watch a film on a projector and screen with quality surround sound speakers, but you know what? A decent-size TV can offer a great experience too. Just consider pegging your ticket price to the quality of the viewing experience.