Community Screenings

At a glance

Where you can host: UK and Ireland only, for now. International community screenings begin on Sunday 7 March 2027.

Runtime: 78 minutes

Certificate: PG. The BBFC certificate plays automatically at the start of the film, so you don’t need to show it separately.

Language: English, with closed captions available. 

How it’s delivered: Through our screening partner, Kinema, as a stream or a download

Frame rate: 25fps. Set your laptop to 50Hz for the smoothest picture.

Community Screening Licences: From $100 (about £75), depending on audience size. We’re not VAT registered, so no VAT is added.

Should a newborn dairy calf be separated from its mother? It’s the most divisive question in dairy farming. At Rainton Farm in south-west Scotland, one couple decided to do things differently.

A Dairy Story follows David and Wilma Finlay as they abandon conventional methods and build the first farm in Europe to make a cow-with-calf dairy system commercially viable. 

What begins as a question of animal welfare opens into climate, environment, and ultimately something far more personal: a story about change, about trusting nature, and about the time we have together.

A Dairy Story is a documentary feature with a strong narrative arc, for audiences who want a film about how we farm that doesn’t end in despair. It will be of interest to people who enjoyed films such as Six Inches of Soil, Kiss the Ground, Wilding, and Derek vs Derek. 

It’s a film that encourages conversation, and audiences tell us it works best when it’s watched together. Village halls, community venues, clubs, churches, cheese shops and farms are all good places to show it. 

“Hosting A Dairy Story was a genuinely positive experience. The team were professional, responsive and supportive throughout, making the process of organising a screening straightforward and well-managed.

“The film itself prompted one of the most thoughtful and wide-ranging discussions we’ve hosted. For other venues considering a screening, I’d highly recommend it. The film is beautifully made, the themes resonate well beyond farming, and the team are committed to making each screening meaningful.” Jane Gray, What If? Film Club, Moffat

Please check our Screenings page for cinema dates near you. Where a cinema already has the film scheduled, we’d ask you to choose a date well clear of it, or to go along and support it.

What you’ll need

• An HD projector, or a TV screen of at least 72 inches
• A separate sound system. The film’s sound matters, so laptop or TV speakers won’t fill a room
• A room you can make dark, with no sunlight or reflections on the screen and no background noise
• Seating and access for everyone who wants to come

Starting your booking

1. Go to A Dairy Story on Kinema and choose ‘Create a Screening Event’.
2. Then select ‘In Person’ and ‘Pay the License Fee Upfront’, which is the default settings. 
3. You can then select whether to make your screening public or private, which means whether it’s listed or not on Kinema. 

Choosing your license

1. The next step is to choose your license fee. Kinema charges in US dollars, so your bank will convert the price for you. 
2. Licences are priced by audience size, and for most venues work out at roughly £1.50 to £3 a head for a Community licence, or £3 to £6 a head for a Supporter licence. 
3. The Supporter licence helps the film, and the story of cow-with-calf dairying, reach a wider audience. The Community licence is the same licence at our lower rate. There’s also an Education licence for colleges and universities.
4. You’re welcome to make your screening free, or to charge for tickets at the door or through your own booking system. Whatever you take on the door is yours to keep.

Completing your booking

1. Next you’ll see a form to fill in. And your date and give the address of the venue. 
2. Then add the capacity, which is the maximum amount of tickets you want to make available for your event. 
3. Click update and it will display the license fee. 
4. You’ll then need to agree to the standard licensing terms, make payment and submit the form. 

Approving your booking

1. Kinema then manually checks each booking to make sure everything seems correct, and will then email you once it’s approved. 
2. At this point, you’ll be able to download your host pack from Kinema, with a discussion guide and a link to download marketing materials.
3. The film becomes available 72 hours before your screening, and we recommend testing that everything works in the venue.