Key Steps to Organizing Your Own Premiere

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance – Samuel Johnson

I can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief. But it’s so bittersweet. The first film premiere for my short film, Blind Justice, has finally come to an end and it was a huge success! I did it! It was private, exclusive, and luxurious. All my hard work over the last five years has been worth it because now I officially have an MVP to bring to the market.

But let’s rewind to three months prior. It’s July 2025 and I’m in New Orleans, LA for Essence Festival 2025. I’m taking pictures and recording mini videos for social media content to announce the premiere of the film in October 2025 with no specific date in mind.

I get back home from Essence, obtained the photos and videos from the photographer and made the scariest decision of my life – I announced to my 200 followers on Instagram and my 1,500 friends on Facebook to clear their calendars for the month of October.

Now, keep in mind, I never told my followers / friends what the specific event actually was when I made this announcement.

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Okay. It’s officially out. It’s becoming real and I can’t go back!

So, why October?

Well, because October focuses on domestic violence awareness which is one of the many topics (drug use, black excellence, education etc.) shown throughout Blind Justice. And you always want to give yourself three months to market your event to the public.

Tip: Find topic(s) (I.e., domestic violence, pride, mental health, Asian American, Black History, Women’s History etc.) that your event focuses on and target that month and audience to have your premiere / event.

Then, I created a mockup flyer of my movie poster announcing the event (a film premiere) in October 2025 and posted it every day for the next three months on social media. Posts included quotes, tips, trailers, teasers, YouTube videos, personal photos, lives, influencer / website announcements, cast bios, my experiences at the BET Awards and Essence Festival, and so much more.

I made a promise to myself to not care how many likes, comments, shares, or reposts each post got. All I cared about was showing up and being willing to accept the outcome whether it be good or bad.

Content was king at this point.

I’ll be honest, I lived in complete anxiety, irritation, fear, doubt, and no sleep during this three-month period. Even my full-time job was on the rocks. I was an isolated zombie!

Once I posted the flyer announcing the film premiere, two main questions kept being asked: What date is the premiere? and What is the address? I kept dodging these questions because I honestly didn’t have answers. I was still figuring it out.

So, I go to the one woman who knows exactly how to turn anxiety into power: Beyonce.

I kept this inspirational quote of hers at the top of my mind every day to help me keep going: “What does fear taste like? Success. I have accomplished nothing without a little fear in my mouth”.

Deep breaths Gia. Deep breaths.

Now, it’s time to find a location. I thought this was going to be the easy part but boy was I wrong. I really wanted a nice movie theatre that had good parking, a stage, and allowed food and drinks. Shockingly, all the nice theatres, including those that housed theatrical plays were either booked, had horrible parking or just didn’t allow film screenings.

I searched and called everywhere on Peerspace, Google, and Giggster. It was a huge struggle for nearly a month.

And apparently, October is one of the busiest months for theatres because it’s usually when companies plan retreats, conferences, fundraisers, etc. OMG!!!

Finally, I found a small theatre in DC that had one weekend available in October. After work, I drove to the location and parking was non-existent (huge red flag). I toured the theatre and the space they had available was perfect. Then, my tour guide broke down the financial logistics and I was pissed!

Just renting the theatre for three hours was over $2,000. That’s excluding the fees for their personnel that would need to be onsite to control the lights, sound, clean-up, etc. Additionally, you couldn’t bring food or have a red carpet. Gosh. I’m running out of time!  

I left the tour still considering renting out the theatre. That all changed when I turned to walk to my car only to see a police vehicle blocking me in and 3 police officers standing beside my car on the sidewalk. What in the world is going on? Did I park illegally?

My heart is speeding rapidly at this point.

I finally get to my car only to see the police officers surrounding a dead man on the ground. Oh my goodness. Absolutely not. This theatre is a no-go! I got in my car so fast and pulled off. Did I just see that? Did I just see a dead body up close in person? Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Get me out of here!

Now, I’m panicking more than ever. Then, I had a revelation. If I couldn’t find a theatre, I was going to have to create one. That night I went on Google and Instagram and searched for event spaces in the area. I found Dalissa Studio Event Space in Beltsville that was running a great deal for 10-hour event rentals.

I also saw that the owner was an event decorator and her work was amazing. I made the decision to visit the venue the next day after work.

I went to sleep that night somehow feeling so calm even though that venue was my last hope.

I called the venue the next day during my lunch break, and I was relieved to find out that they had the last two Fridays available in October. I didn’t want to interfere with Halloween, so I knew I had to get the October 24^th date.

I went to venue after work and was so happy to see that it was much bigger in person. It was big enough to house 70 seats, a stage, screen, red carpet, bar, a VIP section, a DJ and food. I spoke to the administrators and the owner and made the down payment for October 24^th on the spot. Yess! I finally have a location and a date!

I went home, set up a page for people to buy tickets, put the link in my Instagram profile and on the film website. I contacted twenty influencers in the DMV in which one (the lovely Kendra) agreed to attend and bring five guests.

Surprisingly, no ticket sales came in when I posted the date and location. But eventually they did come in as the weeks went by and eventually went on to sell out.

Okay. Now, I must find a stage and a screen projector. After some research, I booked Electric Events DC to install a 24’ x 8’ indoor stage since I anticipated roughly 10 people (cast + crew) who would be on stage answering questions. But on the day of the premiere, Dalissa and the event coordinator saw that the stage size would take up too much space, so they decreased it while I was off getting my makeup done.

For the screen and projector, I hired 4Wall Entertainment to rent a Monoblox 16’ x 9’ fast fold screen, an Epson Pro L1405 8K Lumen Laser Projector, and one of their technicians to be on site for the entire event. Then, 4Wall asked me if I had an audio technician?

Huh? Why do I need audio?

Well, if I wanted the audience to hear the sound /audio from the film clearly, I’ll need speakers and microphones for the people to ask and for the cast and crew to answer questions.

In the end, I hired a lighting technician (Travis), an audio technician, DJ, videographer (JVINNI), photographer (Ikenna), bartender (Gia), a same day event coordinator (Felicia) and the coolest MC (Dr. Frenchwood).

How did the premiere end up turning out? Check out the photos and videos below.

Be sure to leave a comment on this post and please like, comment, subscribe, and follow Gia’s World Studios on IG, FB, TikTok, and YouTube.

Much Luv,

Gia

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Other posts you may be interested in:

• A Traveler’s Love Post To Art In London
• What It Was Like At Essence Festival 2025?
• How To Add ADR & Finish A Short Film?

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Disclaimer:

The author is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions of failure to act related to the content in this article. If you need specific legal advice, consult with an attorney who specializes in your subject matter and jurisdiction.