Pittsburgh Filmmakers Cinema

Regent SCARE was the 5-day roster of horror and Halloween-themed movies slated to accompany the grand reopening of the Regent Square Theater after it was closed for repairs earlier in the year. A longtime staple of the family-friendly Regent Square neighborhood in Pittsburgh, the community was ecstatic about and supportive of the single-screen theater opening it's doors once again. Marketing worked side-by-side with Exhibitions & Programming, led by Director Lauren Goshinski, to strategize the theme, promotional efforts, and materials, including a full-sized (24" x 41") movie poster for display at the theater. (I also may just be responsible for "Vampire in Brooklyn" being on the roster.)

Marketing created a graphic for all five days of the Regent Scare programming that listed the movies we'd be showing that evening. These assets were used to promote on Instagram and Facebook primarily.

The reopening was an all-hands-on-deck achievement - a combined effort of Marketing & Communications, Exhibitions & Programming, and Education, Youth Media specifically - that included replacing equipment in the projection booth, performing a long list of aesthetic upgrades including new bathrooms, a new paint job and new facades for the ticket booth and snack counter, and refurbishing and decorating the small storefront attached to the theater that would function as a photobooth area. Lauren and I walked the Regent Square neighboorhood, introduced ourselves to business owners in the area, and dropped off posters, flyers, and handouts. We also went on a shopping extravaganza for spooky decorations and Shannon Dailey lended several of her own pieces to perfect the set.

The day of the grand reopening, we had a full house, including members of the Regent Square committee who were on hand to sign people up for PF/PCA newsletters and hand out course catalogs.

Local/Global Lens: Without Home was a documentary and community discussion series held at the Regent Square Theatre in November of 2017 and spearheaded by PF/PCA's Director of Exhibitions & Programming, Lauren Goshinski, in partnership with Homes for All Pittsburgh and City of Asylum. The screenings included a double feature of filmmaker Chris Ivey's groundbreaking "East of Liberty", a documentary series filmed over the course of 10 years detailing the effects of gentrification in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, and internationally renowned artist Ai WeiWei's "Human Flow", a visual journey chronicling a year in the life of refugees in 23 countries. Each screening was followed by panels and talks led by those most affected by local and global displacement, including residents, business owners, and refugees, as well as those working directly within organizations committed to help society emerge from the staggering effects of gentrification and the refugee crisis. The films and ensuing discussions were extremely timely, well-attended, and well-received despite (and perhaps because of) such harrowing subject matter.

During the panel discussion following "East of Liberty", panelists Tresa Murphy-Green and Billie Vaughn provided powerful testimonies about the effects of racial disparity on Black women in Pittsburgh and potential ways to increase community ownership and combat gentrifying developers.

The promotional efforts for the much-anticipated film "My Friend Dahmer" went a bit beyond the scope of our usual marketing tactics. Specifically, we conducted a giveaway, in conjunction with distributor FilmRise, of two copies of the graphic novel that inspired the movie, which required some product photography, as well as a free ticket to attend a screening. Because "My Friend Dahmer" is based on the real-life narrative of an eventual serial killer, striking a balance between garnering excitement for the much-buzzed about movie and respecting the sobering tone of the dark subject matter was imperative.

My role as Director of Marketing & Communications included many challenging and fluctuating duties, but in a nutshell my priority was to make sure as many people were aware and in anticipation of all Pittsburgh Filmmakers Cinema had in store. The first step in the process of devising a promotional plan for each film, film series, and special event forthcoming was to create a press release that would both inform and entice our press contacts, board members, artist members, supporters, sister organizations in non-profit and the artists, and of course, the cinephiles in the surrounding community and beyond. We employed many tactics to promote our offerings, but press coverage was paramount to an organization that had, for way too long, been without a direct point of contact working to build relationships with the media.