Copyright Criminals

Copyright Criminals was featured in ITVS’s landmark Community Cinema program, which produced community outreach screenings in 65 cities during October 2009. All screenings were conducted between 10 and 60 days prior to the film’s scheduled national broadcast on Independent Lens. Copyright Criminals screenings welcomed 3,200 community members to events across the nation, which included panel discussions with local musicians and artists, legal experts, and educators.

More than150 people packed the theater at the DC Community Cinema event, which was a co-presentation with the Future of Music Coalition at its annual policy summit and featured a discussion with co-producer Kembrew McLeod and Tom Berman, an entertainment lawyer featured in the film. This and other discussions across the country touched on topics and issues such as the birth of sampling, creative expression, copyright law and the influence of technology in modern art forms.

ITVS produced companion discussion guides to support the screenings and for use by viewers at home; more than 10,000 were downloaded or distributed. More than 70 community-based and national organizations partnered with ITVS to engage audiences around this film.

Copyright Criminals is a featured collection in ITVS’s Community Classroom program, offering short film modules and curricular materials for schools, community organizations, and other educational settings.