WHO CAN BORROW FILMS FROM THE POV LIBRARY?

Our films are available for free to community-based organizations, educators, NGOs, governmental agencies, nonprofits, librarians, media centers, PBS station employees and other engaged community members based in the United States and U.S. Territories. If you are a member of the military stationed abroad or work at a US embassy, you also have access to our films for free. We cannot lend POV films for international screenings. If you're not sure if you can borrow a film, just send us an email at events@pov.org.

HOW DO I BORROW FILMS FROM THE POV LIBRARY FOR A SCREENING EVENT?

Please create a free account and register a screening event. We will share access to the requested film 1-2 weeks before your scheduled event, along with a list of support materials. We recommend registering your screening event at least 2 weeks prior to the event date. This provides our small team time to review and approve the request, and gives partners time to prep and promote the screening.

HOW DO I REQUEST A NEW EVENT?

In the My Events section on the left hand sidebar, you can request a new event, along with reviewing pending, approved and past events.

HOW DO I FIND AVAILABLE FILMS?

Search the Digital Lending Library, where you can browse and sort titles by Topic, Length, Season, Decade, and by your User Role to find films that fit your programming needs.

ARE ALL FILMS IN ENGLISH?

No. The POV Digital Lending Library includes documentaries from the United States and around the world, and some films feature dialogue in languages other than English. All films include English closed captions. Some titles may also offer captions in additional languages, but multilingual captioning is not available for every film.

I DON'T SEE THE FILM THAT I WANT TO BORROW IN YOUR LIBRARY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

In certain cases, we may be unable to lend a film due to its distribution rights. If the film isn't listed in our library, then we can no longer lend out that film. If you are interested in purchasing the film, you can email us for distribution information for the film. If you’re interested in a specific film that isn’t available, email events@pov.org.

WHAT IF I WANT TO BORROW MORE THAN ONE FILM AT A TIME?

You are more than welcome to borrow more than one film at a time. Just create a new event for each screening in your POV account.

MY FILM WON'T PLAY. WHAT DO I DO?

Please check to make sure you have a strong internet connection when screening films. We recommend that you pre-screen your film to check for any issues with the digital link when you receive access at least one-week in advance of your screening date. This will give us enough time to troubleshoot video playback. On a case by case basis, we may grant access to a downloadable file of the film for events where internet service is unreliable. This must be specially requested by email. If you run into any issues while accessing or testing playback of the film, please email us at events@pov.org.

HELP! I HAVEN'T RECEIVED MY FILM AND I REALLY NEED IT.

Once your event is reviewed and approved, our team will provide you with digital access of the requested film and additional materials to support you with hosting an event 1-2 weeks prior to your screening event. You will have up to 14 days to test the streaming link and screen your event. After 14 days, the link will expire. If your screening is around the corner and you haven't received the film, please email us. If there isn't time to receive a digital copy of the film, we'll work with you to make the screening happen. Reach out to events@pov.org as soon as you discover an issue or need to reschedule your screening. Our office hours are 10am-6pm EST Monday - Friday, so we are unable to respond to inquiries over the weekend.

WHERE CAN I FIND PROMOTIONAL TOOLS, SUGGESTED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND OTHER MATERIALS FOR MY SCREENING?

We have a step-by-step guide to organizing a POV screening, film-specific promotional toolkits, and other educational and engagement resources in the Materials section for each film in the Digital Library. Click into the film thumbnail to review the materials we have available. We will also email links to these screening materials once your event registration has been approved by our team.

HOW CAN I WATCH POV FILMS ONLINE TOGETHER WITH MY COMMUNITY GROUP?

There are many virtual platforms for you to host a group screening event. We recommend our partners use the Zoom platform to screen share and watch POV films for online community and educational screenings and programs.

DO YOU ALLOW SIMULCASTING OF POV FILMS DURING SCREENING EVENTS (For example, streaming to multiple locations on Facebook Live, Workplace by Facebook, YouTube Live, etc.)?

We do not allow our partners to simulcast screening events. Only in special circumstances with filmmaker approval will we consider the broadcasting of programs or events across a platform or service outside Zoom. Please email events@pov.org, if you have questions around this.

I HOMESCHOOL MY CHILDREN AND WOULD LIKE A COPY OF A FILM TO SHOW FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. IS THAT POSSIBLE?

Unfortunately, we do not have home video licensing rights even if you are showing the film for educational purposes. We encourage you to come together with others in your community (e.g. your local library or other home-based education groups) to organize an online community screening or watch select POV films streaming online for free at pbs.org/pov/watch.

I NEED TO CHANGE MY ADDRESS OR PROFILE INFORMATION. HOW DO I GO ABOUT THAT?

Once logged in, visit the My Profile section on the left hand sidebar to change your information, mailing address and account password. Since we no longer ship out DVDs, we will only use your mailing address to send POV marketing materials.

HOW DO I SUBMIT AN EVALUATION?

On the left hand sidebar, navigate to the Evaluation section, where you can tell us all about your POV screening.

CAN I SEE STATS ABOUT MY PARTNERSHIP WITH POV?

Yes! The EVENT STATS section is where you can view the impact and numbers of all of your hosted events.

CAN I SEE WHAT SCREENINGS OTHER POV PARTNERS ARE HOSTING?

Yes! View the upcoming events across the country on the Events page.