Lawful Screening of Films and Television Programs in Schools

Downloadable Information Sheets

Lawful Screening of Films and Television Programs in Schools (new window) 40k

Screenings in the Classroom

Under the Copyright Act and the arrangements made with film and television producers and broadcasters under Statutory Broadcast Licence (under Part VA of the Copyright Act) schools can:

Play films, television or radio programs in the classroom (or other teaching venue) or using distance education software, as part of a course of instruction.
Copy any program screened on television or radio, for example, feature films, documentaries and news and current events for screening in a classroom as part of a course of instruction. Copies can be stored on video tapes, cassette tapes or DVD’s or on hard disk. Copies made must be marked in accordance with the requirements of the Statutory Broadcast Licence.
Communicate the copied program to staff and students via email, intranet, secure website or into classrooms from equipment in a central point (such as the school library) as part of a course of instruction.

Screenings Outside of the Classroom

“Rainy Days”

At present there is no arrangement for schools to show films for non-educational purposes in schools, for example, as a lunchtime entertainment or as a “rainy day” activity. You can screen films if they are shown as part of a course of instruction. Students might, for example, be shown the film and asked to write a review of it or undertake a classroom activity based upon the film.

To show films for non-educational purposes, films should be borrowed from a licensed lending library or hired from a “non theatrical” film distributor (see Film Sources below). Otherwise permission must be obtained from the relevant copyright owner or distributor. Contact your local Copyright Manager (see Contacts) if you need assistance with this.

School Excursions

Screenings of films during school excursions, for example, in the coach en route, are not permitted unless you or the coach company have obtained permission

from the relevant copyright owner/s. Check to see whether the coach company

has obtained a licence to show films on its buses. To obtain suitable films yourself see Film Sources (below). Contact your local Copyright Manager (see Contacts) if you need assistance with this.

Before and After School Care and Holiday Programs

If you wish to screen films (videos and DVDs) during this type of activity you will need to obtain a licence from the copyright owner of the film or the distributor. See Film Sources (below). Contact your local Copyright Manager (see Contacts) if you need assistance with this.

Boarding Schools

Screening of a film, for example, on a DVD in a boarding school by students for their own private purposes is permitted. However, to ensure that the purpose of the screening is for private purposes the DVD should be obtained (from legitimate sources) in the name of the student rather than the school.

Fundraising

Films may not be shown for fund raising purposes on school premises by staff, parents or student under the Statutory Licence scheme. To show films for fundraising purposes you must obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner. You can do this by obtaining them from a “non theatrical” film distributor See Film Sources (below). Contact your local Copyright Manager (see Contacts) if you need assistance with this.

Always Obtain DVD’s from Reputable Sources

It is essential that films screened in schools are obtained from legitimate sources. Film DVDs, for example, may be purchased or hired from non theatrical film distributors, licensed lending libraries or educational sources for screening on school premises. See Film Sources (below).

Screening pirated DVDs puts you, your school, your principal and your educational body at risk of serious civil penalties which include payment of compensation to the copyright owner as well as criminal penalties. For this reason schools should not accept donations or loans of DVDs or videos from students or parents. We recommend that schools source their own films to ensure that they are not pirated copies. For further information see Copyright Information Sheet “Screening Pirated DVDs in Schools”.

Film Sources for Schools

Government Organisations

The National Film and Video Lending Service (NFVLS ), based at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, has an extensive international collection of 16mm films, DVDs and VHS videos including feature films, shorts, animations and experimental films from early silent films to recent releases. Schools can make online bookings up to a year in advance and titles are shipped anywhere in Australia for very reasonable rates ($10 per DVD, $27.50 per 16mm film ). Find out more about how schools can join the NFVLS and borrow films on www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfvls. The NFVLS can be contacted on Freecall 1800 012 175 or email: nfvls@nfsa.afc.gov.au.

The Australian Film Commission (AFC) has a program called School Screen which presents free school screenings in cinemas in regional Australia. School Screen also assists schools that do not have cinemas in their area to access Australian made films. The AFC’s Education Programs Coordinator, Bob Percival, can be contacted on (02) 9321 6497 or email: Robert.percival@afc.gov.au.

“Non Theatrical” Film Distributors

The non-theatrical division of Roadshow Films represents many major film companies such as Warner Bros., 20 th Century Fox and Buena Vista (Disney). Roadshow Films provides films for school events, fund raisers and so on. Prices depend upon the type of use and expected audience numbers. Roadshow Films can be contacted on (02) 9552 8685 or email: publicperformance@roadshow.com.au.

Amalgamated Movies is a non-theatrical distributor which provides films for many organizations including schools. They distribute films by Sony, Columbia, Tristar Icon and Madman films including latest releases. To contact Amalgamated Movies see their website: www.amalgamatedmovies.com

For further information about screening films and television programs in your school and other copyright issues contact your local Copyright Manager (see Contacts).

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