Is my Film Covered by the CVL?

The Church Video Licence™ (CVL) from CCLI covers most major film studios and distributors including 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount, Pixar and Universal.

However, CCLI appreciates that determining whether a particular film is covered isn’t always easy. This article will look at the best way to confirm that the film you wish to show is covered by the CVL.

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).

• From the IMDb homepage, enter the film’s title in the search bar and press enter–resulting in a list of titles.  The more exact you are, the more likely your film will be at or near the top of the list. When you see the film you’re looking for, click on the title to open that film’s page on the IMDb site. Examine the details to make sure this is the exact film you want.
• 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 list 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 Company credits page, and a list of film Production Companies and Distributors. Scan the list of Distributors to find the company which holds the ‘(Ireland) (Theatrical)’ right. (See the end of this article if the Ireland Theatrical right isn’t listed here):

The company credits page for a film on IMDb.

• Having made a note of the distributor with the Ireland theatrical right, now open the IE CVL Producers List on the CCLI website. This list shows all the studios/producers covered by the CVL in Ireland displayed in alphabetical order. If the distributor with the Ireland theatrical right appears in this list, the film is covered by the CVL for Ireland. If the distributor isn’t listed here, the film is not covered.

The Ireland theatrical right isn’t shown on IMDb. What do I do?

If the Ireland theatrical right isn’t listed on IMDb but a single company appears to hold the Theatrical rights to most territories, as a general rule you can assume that that company will also hold this right for Ireland. If there is no general consensus in the list on IMDb, we recommend you contact us on +44 (0)1323 436100.

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

If the film isn’t covered by the CVL, it may be covered by Filmbank. Filmbank offers a Single Title Screening Licence (STSL) that allows you to show a film on a one-off basis for both commercial and non-commercial use. Alternatively, you could try contacting the film’s producer directly.

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