PLAN

As you plan your screening of RED HORIZON, consider the following:

• Goals: Deciding what you’re trying to get out of screening RED HORIZON will help you plan an impactful event. You might consider writing down a specific and tangible “desired outcome” and tailoring your event accordingly.   

• Audience: Who do you want to see this film? Groups may include students, policymakers, teachers, neighbors, coworkers, business leaders, friends, and anyone else who might benefit from seeing and discussing the film.

• Date and time: When is your audience available? Consider screening around key milestones such as Black History Month, April 26 (the anniversary of the last Tuskegee Airmen mission in 1945), or July 26 (the date marking the desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces and mandating equality of opportunity and treatment in 1948) to leverage existing interest in the topic. Make sure to also allow yourself plenty of planning time to promote your event and sort out any tech logistics. 

• Format: Will your screening be in-person or virtual? Each format has benefits: in-person can facilitate community and intimate conversation, while virtual screenings stand to have a broader reach and allow for including prominent speakers without added travel logistics and cost.  

• Venue or platform: Confirm where the screening will take place: at a school, church, office, on Zoom, livestreaming on Facebook or YouTube? Ensure that your venue – whether virtual or in-person – can accommodate the size and accessibility needs of your audience. 

• Event details: Don’t wait to the last minute to plan your event agenda. Planning your run-of-show – whether it includes a keynote speakers , panelist, local musicians, or local organizations – well in advance can help draw interest to the event and help you better meet your goals. See more tips on ‘How to Maximize Your Impact’ below. 

Finacial Model:

Your financial model: Please feel free to charge for tickets to the event to offset your screening fee. We have found that charing any amount often creates value around the event. PURCHASE FILM HERE

We recommend the following promotional communications at minimum: 

• Website / RSVP page: To share event details, know who’s coming, provide updates as they relate to your screening, and create a community among your guests. Platforms to consider include your organization’s default website form, Splashthat, Facebook Events, EventBrite, or your video conferencing platform’s RSVP page (e.g. Zoom).

• Emails: 

  • RSVP confirmation email 

  • Email with event details once they’re confirmed

  • Reminder email one day before the event 

  • Reminder email one hour before the event 

• Social media:

  • Share the event on your own social channels with a personal note about why this issue matters to you

  • If you have organization channels, post event reminders one week, one day, and one hour before the event with the film assets provided below  

  • Use hashtags to reach a larger audience such as: #REDHORIZONFILM

• In real life: 

  • Identify influential members of your community (e.g. elected officials, local celebrities, business leaders) to build buzz and awareness around the issue 

  • Contact other local organizations to request their help getting the word out

  • Ask your panel participants to share the event and RSVP page link on their channels and with their mailing list  

  • Send an email to your organization’s employees or volunteers

• Promotional assets:  

  • TRAILER link

  • Email info@redhorizonfilm.com for marketing assets. Press kit, Poster, still photos, and graphics

    The press kit includes synopsis, cast and crew bios, and additional background.

  • SYNOPSIS: RED HORIZON is a short documentary about a group of pilots who are dedicated to keeping the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen alive while pursuing their dream of becoming professional aviators and inspiring the Black community to take to the skies and change the racial imbalance in the world of aviation. 

• Sample copy for newsletters and social posts:  

  • #REDHORIZONFILM is a short documentary about a group of pilots carrying on the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen as they pursue their dreams and change the racial imbalance in American aviation. RSVP to join a free screening of the film on [DATE] at [TIME] at [VENUE] here [LINK]!

  • #REDHORIZON is a short documentary about the Black pilots who are changing the world by rising above it. Join us for a free screening of the film on [DATE] at [TIME] at [VENUE]! RSVP here: [LINK]

  • Did you know that only 2% of U.S. pilots are African American? #REDHORIZON is a short documentary about the Black pilots taking to the sky to carry on the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, pursue their dreams, and change the racial imbalance in U.S. aviation. Join our free screening of the film on [DATE] at [TIME] at [VENUE]! RSVP here: [LINK]

  • Did you know that only 2% of U.S. pilots are African American? Join our free screening of #REDHORIZON, a short documentary about the pilots defying the

Three tips for making the most of your event:  

• Q&A: 

  • Host a Q&A after the screening: This can be the most memorable part of the event. Plan to have 25 to 30 minutes of discussions afterwards. the screening, move straight into the Q&A however have a few questions that the host will ask to get the

  • Pick your host: The host for the Q&A is one of the most important people for the discussion. Pick someone whole a great listener and has the ability to keep the conversation moving forward.

  • Questions: The host should have a few pre-planned questions to use to get the conversation started before taking questions from the audience. See below for provided examples.

  • Picking your panel: The cast offer an amazing perspective on the story and discussion however having people in your community that can talk about the topics in the film are great as well!

• Connect the dots: 

  • Relate the film to your community: Looming social problems like racial justice don’t exist in a vacuum – and, chances are, even if your work or cause has nothing to do with aviation or race, RED HORIZON’s themes are applicable to your community. Lean into the overlap so your discussion hits home. Pose rhetorical questions like: “Why does this matter in x location or to x audience/group?”

  • Recruit trusted panelist: Inviting local experts with direct experience with the subject matter or themes addressed in the film to participate in a post-screening Q&A or panel is a great way to connect the dots from the film to specific issues your audience or organization cares about. You can also invite people with direct experience with the film from our team (see below for a list of guest speakers). Prep your panelists with your goals and call to action in advance so they can incorporate them into their answers where applicable. Be sure to also carve out unstructured time for the audience to mingle with the speakers either in an in-person reception or virtual breakout rooms. 

• Call your guests to action: 

  • Offer a practical, timely and specific followup action: People are most motivated to act immediately after watching the film, so consider how to frame your action in a way that capitalizes on the momentum from your event and focuses on the agency – whatever that scale may be – of those in attendance. Examples include sharing the film with others, donating to your organization, or get involved with one of your local inicitives.

  • End the event on a hopeful note. People want to help make a difference but can easily get overwhelmed at the scale of large and multifaceted problems. Keep your audience motivated by assuring them that – with their help in specific, practical and immediate ways – real change is possible. 

SCREEN

• Screening licenses are for one date only. Feel free to offer multiple screenings during that day. If you have interest in showing the film multiple times please contact us for details.

• Once you purchase the film you will be able to download the film for your event.

For in-person events: 

• Test all your equipment with your chosen streaming method at least one week in advance to ensure that: 

  • The film plays all the way through on the projector you plan to use without buffering, glitches or any other problem

  • The sound system and mic can be heard and the picture can be seen from all seats

  • Your venue can be made very dark, and that you’re able to cover windows in advance if necessary 

• Consider accessibility: 

  • Be sure there’s enough space in the venue for attendees to not just watch the film but also to mingle and participate in a discussion 

  • Consider turning on closed captions or hiring a translator, sign language interpreter or other professionals relevant to your audience’s needs. If you chose to use CC, please email us for a version for this version of the film.

  • Always guide your panelists in speaking slowly enough to allow the audience to process and translators to keep pace

  • Ensure that your venue is accessible and navigable for people with physical disabilities 

DISCUSS 

You have to ask. There may be something you don't even realize is happening. If you do it and someone else does it, it's a snowball effect, it amounts to something, it makes a difference.” – Emilia Tolbert, Red Tail Scholar

All of the cast in RED HORIZONS have chosen to live their lives to the fullest. They defy stereotypes about race and inspire us all to follow our dreams. DISCUSS is designed to help you use RED HORIZONS to spark a meaningful conversation around racial inequality using the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen as a focal point. 

To help facilitate a productive conversation, we’ve segmented the remainder of this guide into five sections: 

Please contact us at info@redhorizonfilm.com to have cast attend your event.

After your RED HORIZON screening, use the following questions as a starting point for your community discussion.  

• What is your overall reaction to the film?

• Which moment or subject in the film stood out or had the most impact on you. Why? 

• The tagline for the film is, “changing the world by rising above it.” How are these pilots rising above systemic racism? In what ways can a new perspective contribute to change?  

• What commonalities did you find in each of the subjects’ stories? Differences? 

• The number of minority pilots in both commercial and military aviation continually hovers around 2%. How can we act as individuals and communities to lesson this inequality and others like it in myriad professions? 

• Henry Ford once said, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” What does he mean by that? How can aviators – and you – make change even when the odds are stacked against you?

• If you could ask anyone in this film a question, who would you ask and what would it be? 

• In the film, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Peace, says, "The airplane doesn't know if you're male, female, black, white, Latino – the airplane doesn't know, the airplane doesn't care. None of that stuff matters, so it's the great equalizer." Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman and first Native-American to hold a pilot license, likewise said, “The air is only the place free from prejudice.” Why is that? How can we make more workplaces and environments in our world free from prejudice? 

• Film subject Emilia Tolbert says, “I have a black son. Everybody looks at him and says he's so small and cute. But one day he's going to grow up, and he's going to be a big Black man who's strong and powerful, and it could be him.” How can you help prevent young people like Emilia’s son from becoming the next victim of police brutality and racism?  

• Discussion questions for youth:

  • Like the Tuskegee University student pilots, you did not create a world that is unjust and unbalanced in its treatment of different kinds of people: you inherited it. What is your role in addressing long-standing systemic problems like racism?  

  • Read the Red Scholars’ bios in the Guest Speakers section above. What stands out to or inspires you about these scholars?  

  • In the film, Torius Moore says he wants to be an astronaut and that, "I wanna instill into my family and my friends that anything's possible for a black man." What is your dream? What are the barriers to that dream, and how will you overcome them? Do the barriers you face differ from the barriers your peers face? Why?

• Discussion questions for faith-based communities:

  • Red Tail Scholar Emilia Tolbert’s favorite quote is from Martin Luther King Jr., who says, “Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” How are you called to serve in order to make our country more equal and unified? 

• Discussion questions for workplaces: 

  • The film’s narrator, Usher, says that the Tuskegee Airmen "protested by excellence.” Is excellence enough to create systemic change? What else do we need to equalize race in America and in your workplace specifically?

  • Review this list of the characteristics of white supremacy culture – from defensiveness and fear of open conflict to paternalism, power hoarding, and perfectionism. Which of these characteristics are present in your workplace, and how might you co-create a different and more inclusive culture?  

  • How does your organization hire and promote staff? How might these processes – or lack thereof – contribute to unintentional inequality and discrimination?

    
    

“[Col. William Sparrow and I noticed that] there's a disparity that's blatantly noticeable that maybe somebody needs to do something about. And instead of waiting for someone to do something, why don't we just do it? You just never know, you could change the world. So that's how we start." – Lieutenant Colonel Richard Peace 

Here are three ways you can encourage your audience to take action after watching the film: 

• Host a screening in your community Start a dialog about the topics discussed in the film by showing the film to others in your network. 

• Donate to the Red Tails Foundation. For more information contact: redtailscholarshipfoundation.org

• Visit Tuskegee Contact the scholarship at redtailscholarshipfoundation.org. Tuskegee is a unique part of the civil rights region that has significant tourism. Visit the Historic Museum, take a flight over Alabama and meet the next generation of Tuskegee Airmen. Tuskegee is also a great location to take your team to give them a unique experience while learning critical leadership lessons based on timeless aviation principles.