Working With Educational Distributors
If your film already has an educational distributor, you may still be able to host screenings on Kinema—depending on the rights they control.
What is an Educational Distributor?
Educational distributors handle licensing for schools, universities, and libraries—institutions that purchase the right to show films in classrooms and libraries or for academic use. These rights are typically called educational rights and can include one-time event, year-long, or multi-year access. They can also be held by a subscription platform that focuses on education institutions, like DocuSeek and Kanopy.
How Kinema Works
Kinema focuses on community and public screenings—such as screenings hosted by faith groups, nonprofits, companies, festivals, or individual organizers. But we also support one-time screening events and year-long access for educational institutions. These are often referred to as non-theatrical rights (everything outside of traditional theaters and streaming).
When You Can Use Kinema
You can use Kinema if you do not have an education distributor, and your education, non-theatrical and community rights remain open.
You can use Kinema if you DO have an education distributor, but their rights are non-exclusive and you can work with other non-theatrical and education distributors and platforms.
You can use Kinema if you DO have an education distributor, but they only have exclusive rights for educational use, and your non-theatrical or community rights remain open.
Example: Your distributor handles universities and libraries, but you or your team retain the rights for community, corporate, or faith-based screenings.
When You Can’t Use Kinema
You cannot use Kinema if your distributor has exclusive rights to all non-theatrical screenings — including educational, corporate, community, and faith-based use.
Example: Your distributor handles all public screening types exclusively, meaning Kinema would overlap with their territory.
What To Do Next
Review your distribution or licensing agreement carefully to confirm which rights are covered.
If you’re unsure, email hello@kinema.com with your agreement or distributor name—we’re happy to help clarify before you publish your film.
Thanks for using Kinema!