OPEN CINEMA Strategic Plan 2005

1. GROWING A HEALTHY SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATION

In our vision of the future, OPEN CINEMA is a healthy self-sustaining non-profit organization with local and national membership. It is a model of cooperative teamwork and collaborative community participation. Paid staff, volunteers, Board of Directors and Advisory Roundtable have clearly defined roles and are adequately compensated.

2. SCREENING EVENTS AS A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY

The focus of OPEN CINEMA’s activities is to organize film screenings that reflect local and global concerns and to facilitate community networking around these issues, bringing local and global social issue and activist organizations, educators, government officials, charities, and individuals together in the spirit of cooperation and social innovation. OPEN CINEMA is actively engaged with programming within schools, educational institutions, childcare facilities, elder homes, hospitals, as well as touring programs and film festival circuits. OPEN CINEMA will also develop its capacity to become a cross platform meeting place, bringing film screenings, discussions, Internet chat rooms, websites, books, download distribution, and more, together under one roof.

3. DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN MULTI-PURPOSE VENUE

OPEN CINEMA’s relationship to its venue is a key ingredient in developing a user-friendly screening space, and this will evolve over time. While OPEN CINEMA researches, plans and finances dedicated multi-purpose spaces, screening events are refined in local cafes and bars, or other spaces where food and beverages can be served in a cabaret-style setting, providing both a comfortable screening venue and a community networking space.

4. DEVELOPING AND EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW PROGRAMMING

Over time, OPEN CINEMA is conducting audience and market research, developing a relationship with local audiences and issues in several geographical areas simultaneously. Combined with an intimate knowledge of available film titles on social/environmental issues, this enables OPEN CINEMA to develop a unique perspective on popular and topical issues that have not yet been the subject of a film, and to support the production of new films that address new issues in new ways, with grassroots community participation as a guiding principle.