The WUD Film Committee has been screening films on campus for over 75 years. The Committee takes pride in bringing hundreds of different films to campus every year, ensuring that the Marquee is the home for film on campus. For more information on our regular programming series, please visit Our Programming. WUD Film is interested in working with student organizations and campus programs on potential collaborations that would be of benefit to the campus community.
We realize that collaborations may not be a great fit for all program ideas. The Marquee is also available for reservation by eligible groups on a limited number of dates. If you would like to use the Marquee without collaborating with the WUD Film Committee, please review the Marquee User Guide and contact the Campus Event Services Office (events@union.wisc.edu) directly.
Important Information to Review before Applying
Who Can Apply: Collaboration requests must come from a UW-Madison Registered Student Organization or a UW-Madison academic division/department/official program on campus. We do not program collaborations with entities outside of the University unless you have an official signed letter of sponsorship from a campus department.
Application Deadline: Proposal must be received at least four weeks in advance of the event date to allow time for the review process and proper marketing of any accepted proposals.
Time Slots: For the 2023-2024 academic year, we will consider collaboration proposals for events held 10/1/2023 or later through 5/1/2024. Collaboration programming spots are available Wednesday evenings during the semester. Monday and Tuesday evenings may also be options on a space-available basis, but our preference is to schedule most collaborations for Wednesdays first before moving on to considering Mondays or Tuesdays. The Marquee is reserved for regular WUD Film Committee series programming Thursday-Saturday evenings and collaborations will not be reviewed for those time slots.
Space/Date Limitations: Due to demand far exceeding space resources, the WUD Film Committee reserves the right to limit the number of proposals they will consider from any individual organization. We may also limit the number of dates/screening slots an individual event requests. Please understand that the WUD Film Committee receives far more event proposals than can be accommodated, so not all proposals will be accepted.
Costs: If the collaboration is approved, the facility use fee for renting the Marquee as a venue will be waived, however your organization is still responsible for the following:
- Paying for/obtaining the film's public performance screening rights
- Paying for and delivering a physical screening copy of the film in good working order (DCP, DVD, Blu-ray, or 35mm)
- Paying for projectionist costs (about $50-$60 for a typical program in digital format, 35mm is an additional cost to bring in an IATSE projectionist)
Venue: All films are played in the Marquee Theater in Union South. The Marquee Theater has 330 audience seats and has the capabilities to project: DCP, Blu-ray, DVD and 35mm.
Fundraising Restrictions: WUD Film Committee collaboration screenings are not available for paid admission or fundraising events, even if such donations are considered optional.
Program Access: All screening collaborations must be free, available to the UW-Madison community, and seated on a first-come, first-served basis only. Programs may not be advertised as “all ages” or “open to the public.”
Corporate/Business Sponsorships: Your event cannot have corporate/business sponsorship, including displays, banners/signage, pre-show trailers, branded giveaways, food sampling or serving of outside food without being expressly approved by the WUD Film Committee and the Wisconsin Union in advance.
Proposal Process
1. Review all information detailed on this page thoroughly before completing the application. Contact the WUD Film Committee about any questions you have before completing the form.
2. Complete the Collaboration Application at the bottom of this page with as much detail as possible. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
3. Once your proposal is submitted for consideration, it will be reviewed by our leadership team. If it meets our basic criteria and fits our mission & goals, it will be shared with the WUD Film Committee for consideration.
4. If you reach this point in the process, you will be invited to a future WUD Film Committee meeting to pitch your proposal and answer questions. After this presentation, you will be excused from the meeting. The committee will then discuss application & presentation and vote to determine if the proposed idea aligns with the committee collaboration goals and if we have the resource capacity to support the event.
5. Following the meeting, the WUD Film Collaboration and Special Event Associate Director and/or the WUD Film Committee Director will contact you with the results of the committee decision and next steps in the process if accepted.
Important Information for Approved Collaborations
Licensing: You must obtain a public performance license for the title(s) you wish to screen, and this licensing must be confirmed prior to any marketing of your event.
Technical Needs: We need complete information on the plans for your event in advance. We can support simple Q&A or panel sessions with a maximum of six total hand-held or wireless microphones. Any event that requires more complex AV support beyond six wireless microphones and/or basic projection of film content will require additional staff support at your cost. We do not support streamed film content for events—we need a physical screening copy of your content. We can program hybrid or virtual speakers/panelists (with additional technical services from our AV area staff scheduled at least three weeks advance and at an additional cost), but we cannot control connectivity or buffering issues with this type of content.
Screening Copy Delivery: Your physical screening copy of the film must be received at the WUD Office in Union South (Room 235) during business hours at least one week prior to the screening date for tech testing to make sure your media works with the Marquee equipment. This is especially important for DCPs, which must be ingested prior to screening (ingest takes about as long as the run time, so a DCP cannot arrive on the day of the event.)
Note that we do not provide content downloading, editing, formatting, or other preparatory services. Your screening content should be a hard format media delivered ready-to-screen. This includes DCPs which must come on a physical drive ready for ingestion, and mp4/mov files which must be downloaded to a USB flash drive/external hard drive.
Seating and Guest Lists: WUD Film Committee collaboration events are seated on a first-come, first-served basis. You may hold a small section of seating (max 15 seats) for your group members working the event, but we do not allow reservations, RSVP lists, guest lists, pre-ticketing, Eventbrite pages, etc. for collaboration events.
Marketing: Your organization is responsible for marketing through all of your available channels. The WUD Film Committee will amplify the marketing of collaboration screenings to the UW-Madison community through all of our relevant marketing channels and will provide volunteer host staff during the screening. The WUD Film Committee must be listed as a programming partner, with our logo included, on all marketing for the event. Programs may not be advertised as “all ages” or “open to the public.”
Questions: If you have any additional questions, please contact WUD Film at wudfilmcollaborations@union.wisc.edu.
Collaboration Proposal Form