20. Immediate next actions

Immediate next actions
Pick the program. If you want the highest probability of a completed first event: Hammer 1970s.
Identify your three venues. Include at least one independent art house and one Alamo Drafthouse.
Make the four-wall feasibility call. One question decides everything: will you play an outside DCP under an outside license?
Email Rialto Pictures (bookings@rialtopictures.com) with your city, candidate dates, seat count, and intended ticket price, and ask for terms and DCP availability on your five candidate titles.
Only after you have a venue rate and a licensing quote should you build the crowdfunding goal — drop the real numbers into the companion budget workbook and read the Scenarios tab before you commit a dollar.
Decide on fiscal sponsorship (Section 13): apply to Fractured Atlas, or co-present with a nonprofit such as VisArt Video or the Carolina Theatre.
Send the Severin, Kino Lorber, and Shout! pitches (Templates 18.1 and 18.2) the same week as your Rialto license inquiry.
Ask one local arts nonprofit whether they offer fiscal sponsorship. It costs you an email and can unlock tax-deductible donations and grants.

Costs, fees, and terms in this document are researched estimates as of September 2026 and vary substantially by market, venue, title, and daypart. Every figure should be confirmed directly with the venue and licensor before you publish a funding goal.