Is my film covered?

How to check if a film is authorised by the Church Video Licence

CCLI appreciates that determining whether a particular film is authorised by your Church Video Licence (CVL) isn’t always easy. This article looks at the best way to confirm that the film you wish to show is covered.

Although there are a number of websites containing film information that you can reference, CCLI recommends that you look first on IMDb.com (The Internet Movie Database). Note: CCLI is in no way affiliated with IMDb and does not endorse or control the accuracy of the content contained therein.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLx-Zb3HcYI

Step One: Determine the Holder of the Theatrical Right for your country

• First, go to the film’s listing on the IMDb website. To do this, from the IMDb homepage, search for the film using the Search function. Your search should return a list of titles. The more exact you are, the more likely your film will be at or near the top of this list. When you spot the film you’re looking for in this list, click on it to open that film’s listing on IMDb. Check the film’s details to make sure this is the exact film you're looking for.
• Next, click on All topics in the top right corner of the page to open the All topics menu:

The All topics option for a movie listing on IMDb.

• Under the Details column in the menu, click Company credits:

The All topics menu showing the Company credits option.

• You should now be looking at the film's Company credits page, and a list of the Production Companies and Distributors. Scan the list of Distributors to find the company that holds the ‘(theatrical)’ right for your country. (See below if your country isn’t listed here):

The Company credits page for the film Frozen on IMDb.

• Now find the Distributor that holds the theatrical right for your country, and note this down.

Step Two: Check the Right Holder Against the CVL Producer List

• Next, open the CVL Producers List. This list shows all the studios/producers covered by this licence displayed in alphabetical order.
• If the distributor that holds the theatrical right for your country appears in this list, the film is covered by your licence and you are free to show it. If the distributor isn’t listed here, the film is not covered.

IMDb is not showing a theatrical right for the film for my country. What do I do?

If the theatrical right isn’t listed on IMDb but a single distributor appears to hold the Theatrical rights to most territories, as a general rule you can assume that that company holds this right for your country too. If there is no general consensus in the list on IMDb, we recommend you contact CCLI.

The film isn’t covered by the Church Video Licence but we still want to show it. What should we do?

If the film isn’t covered by your CVL, you may sometimes be able to obtain a single title screening licence. Alternatively, you could try contacting the film’s producer directly.

Thank you for taking the time to make sure your film is covered. Enjoy showing it in your church.