* UPDATE: I'm happy to report that "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward" is a wild success and turned into an unprecedentedfilm release premiere. What started as a thought of having maybe 30 total theaters screening the film instead turned into 30 languages alone with a total count of 335 theaters in 60 countries, and still growing daily! With multiple screenings at most of the 335 theaters, our total number of screenings is well over 1,000 world-wide. The response to the film has been huge... reports coming in of sold-out crowds in venues ranging upwards of500-900 seatcapacity.
With only minimal feedback so far, here are some noteworthy examples of the global impact of ZMF. In Vancouver, Canada they booked an 820 seat theater but had about 2,000 people show up! Ryan, the coordinator, had to turn hundreds away and fortunately was able to secure another 700 seat venue for a few days later. In Serbia, the coordinator Milan, had a 400 seat theater overflowing with people, many people sitting on the floor and in the aisles! They "had" to book additional screenings to meet the demand. Bruno from Brazil is reporting over capacity crowds and booked new screenings in larger venues. Natalija, the Croatian coordinator, had sell out crowds with professors, scientists and media in attendance and requests to interview her. Stefan in Denmark and Seth in the Netherlands have both had press and public screenings that included former members of Parliament, scientists and professors as well as media with interviews. In Russia, the theaters finally caught the buzz about the film and have agreed to screen in 2 theaters, which were virtually impossible to secure before.
South Africahad overflow capacity and booked additional screenings.Rishi from India, has reported our largest venue at 2,000 seats at Goa University. Malak, our Palestinian coordinator, will be screening at the Ebdaa'Institutionat the Al-Dehesha Refugee Camp in the West Bank. Federico, the Italian coordinator, had arguably the biggest TV celebrity in Italy, Paolo Bonolis, attend the Rome screening and publicly express his love for ZMF. He wants to dedicate an episode of his programme, "Il senso della vita", to the Zeitgeist Movement. His show reached up to 8 million viewers and is among the most watched in Italy. Dozens of broadcasting requests have come in for postJan 25thtelevision broadcast, as well as film festivalinterest.
The Los Angeles premiere hosted by Artivist Film Festival on Jan. 15th was a big hit with a sell out crowd of 845! There was audience applause throughout the film and a standing ovation at the end.Michael Ruppertwas in attendance andLili Haydn, whose music was featured in parts of ZMF, as well as noteworthy progressives. LA's most popular independent radio station KPFK was filming the event and interviewed Peter and guests. Artivist filmed the Q & A with Peter and that will be available online soon.
This has developed to possibly be the largest independent global theatrical premiere, covering the most languages, countries and locations. The movie and the movement are on the global radar now and your efforts are a huge part of this success!
*INTERNET RELEASE: The Online Release is set forJan. 25thbut could happen sooner depending on the level of theatrical interest. This delay is to ensure that the non-profit events are sustained enough so the parties who have taken on the risk can hopefully make back their expenses. Any money obtained otherwise goes towards their Chapter's work - specifically ZDAY 2011
*DVD RELEASE: The DVD release will occur in late Jan., including the free, full resolution, dual layer DVD Torrent download in 30 language subtitles.
Please note that while Peter offers his films for free online viewing and free download, with no restriction on non-sale duplication/distribution and free public display - he simply cannot continue creating such media unless some do, indeed, actually buy the DVD. So, please respect this if you care about the Zeitgeist Film Project. The DVD is a dual layer, 8 gig with the full 2 hour and 41 min film, in a standard, sealed case; offered for 75% less than the commercial price of most DVDs. This film cost over $200,000 to create and if you want to see Zeitgeist IV (!), you will need to help him recover from this huge work.
*PRESS/MEDIA: Please submit all photos, videos, press, local promotional materials and quotable statistics tozmf@thezeitgeistmovement.com. We are going to compile all your materials into a virtual "scrapbook" to be posted on the ZMF site. At a glance, this will illustrate the reach and success of this film release. Once the premiere period ends Jan 25th and I get the final counts in, I will compile our potentially record-breaking numbers and post that information on the site.
