Host a Screening of The Plastic Detox
Trailer | Movie Posters | Screening Guide | Sharing Toolkit | Sample Media Advisory
Sample Run-Of-Show | Share Your Event Details | Discussion Guide
Host a screening of the eye-opening new Netflix documentary film, The Plastic Detox to help raise awareness of the plastic health crisis and advance effective solutions to address it.
Run time: 1 hour and 15 minutes. Please note that there is also a condensed, 45-minute version of the film if that is a better fit for your event.
Synopsis: Releasing globally on Netflix on March 16, 2026, The Plastic Detox reveals the startling effects plastics and toxic chemicals are having on our bodies and health. This new documentary will help reframe the global plastic problem — a core driver of fossil fuel demand — as an urgent public health issue.
Plastic isn’t just a pollution issue. It’s personal. Microplastics and toxic chemicals are in our brains, our blood, and our unborn children – with health risks linked to rising rates of chronic illnesses like cancer. This chemical exposure is harming millions of people’s fertility and stealing their right to a family. Our bodies are no place for plastic.
We hope you will host a screening of this groundbreaking film and include a panel discussion afterwards to raise awareness and provide your audience members with tangible solutions to reduce their plastic exposure and opportunities to advance systemic policy change. Follow the steps below to help ensure a smooth, well-attended and deeply impactful event.
Request a screening. Go to: www.UnplasticYourLife.com to request a screening from the filmmakers. Once they’ve processed your request and have shared the link with you, please note that you will also need both a Netflix account and a strong internet connection to stream the film for your screening as well as a projector.
Reserve a good space for the screening. Schedule your event as far in advance as possible (at least a month) as it takes time to locate and reserve a community space that is easy to access and has ample parking or is reachable via public transit. Venues you may wish to consider include your local library, community center, museum, town hall or city hall, church, synagogue, mosque, food co-op, elementary school, high school, or college auditorium. Please note that most movie theaters must charge admission so opt for other venues as these screenings must be free of charge, per the terms of the film’s distributor.
Set an attendance goal. Based on the space you’ll be using, you should set a realistic goal for how many people you want to attend. Ideally, the space will be full but not overflowing (you must abide by posted occupancy limits) and there must be seating available for everyone. Please note, if you expect to draw a crowd of at least 50 people, we encourage you to partner with a local bookstore to sell copies of Beyond Plastics new book, “The Problem with Plastic.”In our experience, audience members may feel shaken and overwhelmed following the screening so it’s helpful to provide attendees with a guide to both immediate solutions to enact meaningful policy changes and advice for how to reduce their own exposure to plastics and their toxic chemical additives - all of which they can find in our book! Find more details about the book here.
Line Up a Moderator and Strong Panelists for Your Follow-up Discussion. Choose a group leader and/or someone who is familiar with plastic pollution as your moderator. You can invite medical professionals (recommended!), local elected officials, scientists, and environmental advocates to join the panel. We recommend that your post-screening panel feature no more than three speakers and that you leave plenty of time for questions and answers.
Request Bios and Headshots from your Panelists and Moderator. You will need their titles and bios to include in the media advisory, and you’ll need their headshots to customize your promotional graphics.
Collect RSVPs Online. Set up a way for people to RSVP online, whether it’s via Googleforms (you’re welcome to make a copy of our sample screening RSVP Googleform here), Evite, Action Network (you’re welcome to use our sample Action Network event RSVP as a model), Eventbrite, or another tool. In addition to letting you know if you’re running up against space constraints or need to do more promotion to boost RSVPs, collecting RSVPs gives you an easy way to share reminders to ensure people show up and can also be a great email list-building tool for your local group or affiliate. You may also want to allow people to submit questions in advance to help get the discussion rolling after viewing and allow your panelists and moderator to prepare. Even if you only ask people to RSVP via email, do it!
Share Your Event Details with Us! Don’t forget to let us know when/where you’ll be hosting your screening. Please fill out this short form to share your screening with us. If you have any issues, please contact Diana Hernandez, Beyond Plastics managing director at dianahernandez@bennington.edu.
Make A Virtual Flier & Social Media Graphics. You’re welcome to adapt them template flier and graphics in our sharing toolkit to make this a light lift. Please note that these templates are all in Canva and will require you to edit them in that program.
Promote, Promote, Promote. Submit a listing for your event to your local events calendar(s) and newspapers, invite your local elected officials, send a note asking people who run environmental and other relevant listservs or lead local groups asking them to share the invitation with their networks, and send a number of reminders to your own contacts and email list. Use the newsletter blurb, sample posts and graphics in the sharing toolkit to make your promotions stand out!
Create a Detailed Run-of-Show. Write out a clear schedule that leaves plenty of time for Q&A. Assign a moderator and someone to run the technology for your event. Ask your moderator to write out their questions and key points ahead of time and share them with you. You can also ask people to submit questions when they register that your moderator can review in advance. Click here for a sample run of show you can adapt.
Schedule a Practice Run. Find a time that works for all your panelists, moderator, and tech person to meet at the event space a few days before your event to run through everything and practice the flow of the event.
Invite the Media. Issue a media advisory to let local reporters know about your event. Click here for a media advisory template you can customize.
Send Reminders! People have busy lives so plan to send a reminder to the screening a week before the event, another reminder the day before the event, and a final reminder on the day of your event.
Follow Up. Send an email to everyone who signed up/attended after the panel to thank them and urge them to join the Beyond Plastics email list at: https://www.beyondplastics.org/sign-up
SAMPLE MEDIA ADVISORY
This is your chance to get some media coverage of your event so let reporters know it’s coming up and make your media advisory count using our tips below. Click here to use our media advisory template as a starting point.
Give it an eye-catching headline
Include your contact information at the top
Highlight your impressive local speakers
Include a quote or two so busy reporters can grab them for a piece
Keep it short
SAMPLE RUN OF SHOW
One of the keys to a successful event is drafting a clear run of show to guide your schedule. Make sure that everyone knows which pieces they are responsible for during the event to avoid any confusion. Schedule a practice run through a week to several days before the event. Click here for a sample run of show document you can adapt.
SHARING TOOLKIT
Social media is a powerful tool to spread the word about your event and get more people to attend.
We’ve put together sample content including fliers, sample posts, a newsletter blurb, and social-media graphics that you can either use as-is or customize to promote the details of your specific screening event.