This is an open call to anyone who has had a hand in starting or running a local film series.
Right now, I'm living in a small city in northern Illinois. It's a parochial, conservative place with very few "long tail" offerings. With the release a few months back of Food Inc. (which aired in Madison, Wis., and Dubuque, Iowa, but not here) and the more recent release of Capitalism: A Love Story, I'm thinking there needs to be some way to bring those kinds of movies here and get them in front of a local audience, since the local movie theater shows only the most mainstream releases (I was frankly surprised when it recently picked up District 9 and 500 Days of Summer -- for two weeks and one week, respectively). I've already had some success starting a local chess club, so my thoughts are turning now to starting a local documentary/indie film series.
However, I want to do this right. I don't just want to rent a DVD and a digital projector and show these movies in a conference room somewhere. For one thing, there are legalities; for another, I'd like to provide a theater-quality experience.
So I ask the Kossack public: Does anyone know what's involved in acquiring prints of second-run movies and showing them on a nonprofit basis?
Share your wisdom in the comments, please. Danke schön.