Click here to view the playlists for the Best of Fest reels. We currently offer two playlist options.

This option begins with a phone consultation with Joshua Paget, the festival director. He’s reviewed every film submitted to the festival since its founding in 2013. This consultation helps us discover what topics or stories would be most relevant and helpful to your community. Do you want to imagine new housing types for your neighborhood? Understand the relationship between transit and the environment? Inspire revitalization and civic pride? Reimagine unused space with tactical urbanism and creative placemaking? These and many other issues can be addressed through a specially curated line up of films.

We will send you a download link to your reel. It will contain a digital movie file suitable for screening at your event.

First, contact your event venue for their requirements for playing films at their venue. If they cannot play the files as we sent them to you, please contact us. We will help get you the films in the right format.

We do not have extensive contacts or relationships with event venues. But please send us an email in case we have a contact in your area!

Suggest the idea of booking a screening to a local organization that might be interested, and have the capacity to organize it. Screenings have been organized by colleges and universities, Main Street organizations, downtown and business Improvement districts, municipal transportation departments, walking and biking advocacy groups, architecture and design firms, cultural festivals, churches and art galleries.

Follow us on facebook to find when a screening is coming to your region.

We ask that you test all the films you receive before the day of the event. If there are any problems, we will do our best to troubleshoot any tech issues with you on a phone call.

We attempt to be available to you during the event, but cannot always be available during the actual screening time. Therefore, it is important to test and troubleshoot in advance.

We will list your event on the upcoming events calendar as well as promote it on social media channels. Some screening options include additional items like custom posters and other promotional items.

We recommend having everything set one month before the event so that the month in advance can be spent promoting your event.
So we would prefer to start working with you about two months before the event (or earlier).

Yes! Some organizations use the screening as a fundraiser event.
While other organizations use the screening as an awareness raising event and choose not to charge a ticket price.
Usually the events that charge a ticket price still get a packed house.

Yes! We do recommend keeping the venue in mind during the film selection process. Long form documentary films may not be the best choice for an outdoor event. A collection of fun, engaging short seem to work better for outdoor events.

Yes, we’ve hosted educational screenings with Azusa Pacific University, University of Connecticut, and University of Texas, San Diego Library, and LADOT. Contact us about arranging for an education rate.

Yes. We’ve partnered with other events and festivals to add a unique twist on their conference or festival line up. Here’s a few examples:

1. World Urban Forum 10, Abu Dhabi

2. Milan Festival of Design

3. Venice Architecture Biennale

4. Hong Kong Animation Festival

5. LA Design Week

6. Ottawa Architecture Week

7. Jane’s Walk International

8. Christian Community Development Association

9. Utopian Hours, Turin, Italy.

10. Local Chapters of Main Streets America

11. APA Western Region Planning Conference

1. Through our monthly email newsletter

2. Social media reposts (@BetterCitiesFF)

3. Custom Event Poster (For select options)

1. Complete the online payment.

2. Sign the MOU.

3. Send us an email - If you chose the Custom Curated Reel, we will schedule a conference call. If you chose the Best of Fest reel, we will confirm receipt and send the link to the file. If you select Weekend Fest + Workshop, we’ll be in touch to plan and program with you.

If you choose the Best Of Reel, the reel is set. You can preview it, but no changes are possible.

If you choose the Custom Curated screening, the festival director will do a consult session with you. We will then send you films to preview. You’ll review these options, and choose the best ones for your audience.

No. Only movies submitted to and accepted by the Better Cities Film Festival can be screened at an event.