When you buy a movie on DVD you also buy the right to screen the movie at home, on your TV or in your home cinema; and you can invite friends around to enjoy it with you, as often as you like.
But to screen a movie in a public place (just about anywhere that is not your home) you have to buy the commercial or ‘theatrical’ screening rights from the distributor who owns them. These rights entitle you to screen the movie in a public venue and to charge admission fees. But the rights can cost hundreds of dollars for a single screening of an average movie, especially if the distributor is located outside Australia. A special film can cost more than a thousand dollars. Distributors guard their rights fiercely, so if you screen a movie in public without first buying the screening rights you will almost certainly find yourself a lot poorer at the end of the inevitable legal and court processes.
Australian film societies are able to screen films under special concessions that allow them to buy ‘non-theatrical’ screening rights at lower than commercial rates. But first they have to satisfy the distributors that they are not just trying to rort the system and gain an unfair advantage over commercial cinemas that pay big bucks for their venues, licenses, screening rights, equipment, wages and overheads.
So a group that wants to become a film society must:
- be a not-for-profit organisation;
- comprise a membership of at least five members who pay a subscription that entitles them to participate in the society’s activities;
- admit only members and guests to its screenings, and
- not charge for admission to screenings.
If and when you apply for membership of the Federation we ask you to fill out a form that covers these essentials.
Make sure you read our Screening rights for DVDs Guide
Australian Film Societies Federation 
I have got a tavern and have a out door
screen and I would like to show movies
on it do I need a licence and how do I get a
license
Thanks Paul
Yes you do need a screening License so contact the distributors on our Australian Film Distributors Page
What about old films that are out of the copyright period?
If a film has no copyright attached to it then you can screen it. But make sure that the film isn’t copyrighted. Copyright laws can be complicated to work out,
Hello,
We are a local AFL footy club and was thinking about having a movie night for the kids.
It would only be available to our members – not general public – would we need to get a licence??
Thanks
You will need to get a licence. Although the film will only be shown to members, it will be shown to members of your footy club and not members of a film society.
What about a Community Resource Centre? We are a not-for-profit and if we play movies in our centre can we play them without paying for the movie rights?
You are screening to the public then you would have to pay for screening rights
How much are the licences?
It varies between distributors. You will need to contact them directly
I am planning a not for profit fundraiser on Halloween this year. I would like to play a kids movie on a blow up cinema screen. the kids zone is gold coin donation entry. What do I need to do for this?
That would count as a public screening and you would need to get permission from a distributor to show the film. That means that the cost of getting the rights from the distributor could be greater than the money you take in.