All Things: Cinefamily, Nuart, Aero, etc.

Dear Members of The Cinefamily,

As most of you know, the Board of Directors has temporarily suspended operations at The Cinefamily while we address the serious allegations that have lately arisen regarding harassment and inappropriate behavior at the organization. We deeply regret calling a halt to our programming and, like you, we miss it, but we feel a pause is necessary right now as we seek to understand what happened and to what extent it may be necessary to change how The Cinefamily is structured. Given that we will essentially be dark while we go through this process, we have decided to temporarily cancel collection of your monthly membership dues. These cancellations will take place in the next 2-3 business days. If you have been charged in the days since we announced our temporary closure, these charges will be refunded. If you have any questions regarding other types of donations, please reach out to info@cinefamily.org.

To help us determine the exact nature and dimensions of the problems we need to address, the Board has engaged Lynx Insights, an independent investigative agency. As part of its efforts, Lynx has set up a hotline that members of the public can call to provide information that might be relevant to its investigation in a safe and secure manner. Anyone--former volunteers, members of the public, whomever--can and should use this hotline to report on any incidents they may know about or concerns they may have regarding harassment or inappropriate behavior at The Cinefamily. If you have knowledge of alleged or possible assaults or other illegal acts, you should also contact the Los Angeles Police Department. For its part, Lynx will keep the identity of all callers confidential. The hotline number is (323) 800-2130, and it will be staffed by female investigators with extensive experience in sexual harassment and assault investigations.

Your support over the years has been invaluable and we have never been more grateful for it than we are now, in this trying time for all of us in The Cinefamily community. We will be contacting you in the near future with further updates and answers to the many questions we know many of you have. If you would like to support The Cinefamily as it works through these issues, a one-time donation at this time would be enormously helpful, increasing the likelihood that we will be able to resume programming as quickly as possible and continue to fulfill our mission of fostering film enthusiast culture in Los Angeles in a welcoming and safe environment for all members of that culture.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Yours in cinema,

The Board of Directors, The Cinefamily

Email from Cinefamily regarding ongoing housecleaning. Really tragic, especially in light of Cinefamily becoming more of a Brand than a theater. Besides the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax, they have also been programming at the majestic Vista theater and The constantly underfunded Bob Baker Marionette theater. I hope they can all survive this.
 
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Beyond Fest 2017: Edgar Wright and Walter Hill Team Up with ?Baby Driver?, ?The Driver?
http://collider.com/beyond-fest-2017-dates-schedule/#egyptian-theatre




Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US, is excited to announce its full slate of 2017 programming featuring 32 events and 23 West Coast premieres of cinematic excess. Co-presented by Shudder, Beyond Fest returns to Hollywood?s famed Egyptian Theatre for 12 days of movies, music and mayhem spanning Friday, September 29th ? Tuesday, October 10th to generate funds for the nonprofit 501c3 American Cinematheque.

With a diverse slate that includes films from all corners of the globe Beyond Fest is proud to open with Brawl in Cell Block 99 with director S. Craig Zahler returning with Vince Vaughn and Udo Kier in person, while closing night honors are bestowed upon Yorgos Lanthimos? ferociously-twisted follow-up to The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Other hotly-anticipated titles making their debuts include the World Premiere of Justin MacGregor?s Best F(r)iends with Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero reunited and in person, Joe Lynch?s blissfully violent Mayhem, and, courtesy of Amazon Prime Video, a very special theatrical premiere of Jean-Claude Van Johnson with the Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme, in person with the show?s cast and creators.

The most beloved genre films are highlighted with a series of special event screenings throughout the festival. Arnold Schwarzenegger takes center stage for an explosive 30th anniversary one-two punch of Predator and The Running Man. The Master, Dario Argento, will be in attendance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Suspiria with screenings of Synapse Film?s 4K restoration AND the recently unearthed 35mm print. ?Car Chases, Collisions & Conversation: An Evening with Edgar Wright and Walter Hill? covers four decades of filmmaking and the interrelated nature of the pulsating smash Baby Driver and the seminal The Driver in one epic night. Musical maestro, Paul Williams, will share stories from behind the mask of Phantom of the Paradise. Mick Garris and Masters of Horror preside over a reverential tribute to two of the greats ? George A. Romero and Tobe Hooper ? with a double bill featuring the West Coast premiere of MOMA and FIlm Foundation?s Night of the Living Dead 4K digital restoration and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And the theatrical premiere of Napoleon Dynamite Bootleg Edition pairs a totally gonzo WTF double bill with Howard the Duck on 70mm with Lea Thompson in person.

Beyond Fest welcomes the return of genre streaming platform Shudder as its co-presenting sponsor, a partnership that provides 14 screenings (11 West Coast premieres) absolutely free to film fans. Every night, the 90-seat ?Shudder Theatre? will feature a brand new film selected from across the world including Kiyoshi Kurosawa?s triumphant return Before We Vanish, home invasion thrill ride Better Watch Out, the critically acclaimed Canadian zombie shocker Les Affames (The Hungry), Marc Meyers? searing portrait of a serial-killer-in-the-making, My Friend Dahmer, Alexandre O. Phillippe?s revelatory Psycho shower scene doc 78/52, and Ted Geoghegan?s sophomore scalper, Mohawk.

For Cinematic Void?s sidebar they have enlisted the help of like minds as they venture further into the unknown with a series of special screenings. Author and academic Kier La Janisse will be present for Jean Rollin?s The Grapes of Death and the release of the book, ?Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin? which she is publishing. Friday Night Frights are co-presenting the west coast premiere of the 4K restoration of the thoroughly bugnuts Rawhead Rex and the Death Waltz Records record release of Hellraiser on 35mm. And filmmakers Amy Holden Jones and Deborah Brock will be present for a double bill of anniversary screenings of their films Slumber Party Massacre and Slumber Party Massacre II.

Tickets for Beyond Fest 2017 will be made available for purchase through Fandango and the American Cinematheque on Friday, September 8th at noon PST. For the latest developments, visit the Beyond Fest official site www.beyondfest.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
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Devin Faraci's Rehiring at Alamo Drafthouse Begs the Question: Do Female Film Fans Matter?
http://www.laweekly.com/film/when-w...45581?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_medium=email

This is the kind of overreaction article that is far too common these days. I know Devin Faraci's work, and I know he can be a little abrasive at times. But to compare him to the situation at the Cinefamily is the kind of weird apples to hand grenades comparison that is also far too common. Now, if he is anything other than a loudmouth, it's a failure on the writer's part to actually inform the readers. I also know, like Hadrian Belove @ Cinefamily, he is extremely qualified, and certainly worthy of hiring by Alamo. That doesn't forgive sexual assault( like Belove is accused of). But if a critic like Faraci should be blacklisted for telling critics to 'kill themselves', well that is a little absurd.

Following up...

The Faraci Fear Factor
https://medium.com/@nickmon1112/devin-faraci-d7ca64424d47

The spark that lit this powderkeg went off on October 9th at about 11:00 AM. Twitter user named @spacecrone asked Devin Faraci if he had remembered grabbing her “by the p***y and bragging to our friends about it, telling them to smell your fingers?” according to her tweet.
I followed up with Ms. Spacecrone and asked her for a recollection of that night.
“We were at a bar, dancing, and he repeatedly stuck his hand down my pants. I told him to stop, he kept grabbing. I actually let it go at the time but YEARS later I brought it up, he claimed he didn’t remember, but some mutual friends who were there told me he’d bragged about ‘fingerbanging me’ all night. There was no penetration that i remembered, just grabbing my va**** repeatedly even when I told him to stop.”

Faraci didn’t outright deny the claim in his reply. “I do not remember this. I can only believe you and beg forgiveness for having been so vile,” he stated.
The spectacle caught the attention of Alamo Drafthouse’s Tim League, who reached out to spacecrone stating “I take this seriously and have taken Devin offline until we sort through this,” in response to the allegations.
Devin Faraci had then stepped down from his position as Editor-in-chief of Birth.Movies.Death. The move was formally announced in a statement obtained by Variety on October 11th.
“This weekend allegations were made about my past behavior. Because I take these types of claims seriously I feel my only honorable course of action is to step down from my position as Editor-in-Chief of Birth.Movies.Death. I will use the coming weeks and months to work on becoming a better person who is, I hope, worthy of the trust and loyalty of my friends and readers.”
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Sorry. I withdraw my complaint. But she certainly should have included this incident in the body of the piece.
 
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Who Defines A Community? Some Thoughts On The Drafthouse Controversy From Fantastic Fest
http://uproxx.com/filmdrunk/fantastic-fest-2017-controversy-tim-league-harry-knowles-devin-faraci/

Devin Faraci and Harry Knowles will serve as deserving enough punching bags for now (personally I feel almost as uncomfortable with being part of a mob as I do with being part of a boys club). But justice comes from change. To that end, Tim League released statement midway through the week announcing a new board of directors and outlining steps Drafthouse would take to win back public trust. It read in part:

“We are striving to better respond to allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and will take actions so those who work at the theater or attend as a guest are not made to feel unsafe.

The festival is actively working on building out a new Board of Directors whose focus will be to further enhance and refine the experience of the festival; nurture and provide more opportunities for young genre filmmakers; and provide the best, most open and inclusive environment for this unique film community. This board will be run by the festival’s Executive Director, Kristen Bell, and should be finalized and announced shortly.”

Was it genuine or just good PR spin? Like many things, that depends on trust. People friendly with League are probably inclined to trust him, but if it comes out that he took a more active role in keeping sexual harassment hush-hush than what is already known, he’s going to need a very good explanation and will probably have to step aside.

“Fantastic Fest is a boy’s club. Always has been,” The A.V. Club‘s Katie Rife, who I met at the fest this year, told me. “There’s a running joke about the relative length of the bathroom lines among the female attendees. I also think it’s a little slow to change compared to other geek spaces (cons, etc). But I don’t think it’s especially egregious. I go to horror cons back home that have similar male female ratios.”

As always, the line between “exclusive boys club” and “stereotypical nerd party that not enough girls show up to” is a blurry one.

Even if the community was inclusive and an important forum, there will be (and of course, already are) those who don’t want their money to contribute to Tim League’s bottom line. I don’t think anyone’s 100% wrong to say that Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest are deserving of boycott as an active agent of boys club culture. But it’s also one with opportunity costs. You boycott Tim League so that you can give your movie dollars to… someone else you don’t know, or a corporation without discernible loyalties or problematic attitudes? Hollywood is not a magical land of opportunity. Neither are the theater owners of America a bastion of tolerance. Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest still seem at least capable of change. Some of the female journalists among this year’s attendees organized a list of recommendations to present to Drafthouse management. Whether they’ll do anything remains to be seen, but at least there was a line of communication. All I can say as someone who didn’t boycott this year is that the from the inside(ish), it feels like the scene is bigger than a few people.
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Christ. Sexual shenanigans, both real and maybe not so, are going to be the real death of Cinema. The main attraction Cinefamily/Alamo offer is the feeling that you are part of something. It's human nature that those in power, take advantage of it. Especially in the geek world where opportunities are scarce. It's a damned shame really
 
NobleSavage said:
Mixed bag here, huh? I loved Cinefamily as a clueless patron who lived walking distance on two different occasions (Spent Xmas 2010 there when I had nothing better to do). Hope they get their ish together and emerge as something everyone can enjoy without any reservations.
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It's been missed. Cinefamily was, despite its faults, truly amazing. Now, the contention, if I understand, is that the owners are still the same. And, since they were on the Board of Cinefamily, they were remiss in their oversight. They did not do enough for the accusations of abuse.

Ok, well Bree Larson and Robert Downey Jr., were also on that board. As were 100s of others. So...unless you boycott Dr Doolittle, and Capn Marvel 2...shut up.

If anything, you would expect them to have to prove their diligence. I'm gonna check it out. And reserve my judgement.
 
Just to add to the Fairfax cinema story, according to Twitter, there have been drive by eggings. Not the most reasonable of protests, but harmless-ish.

If you go to their website you can read their mission statement...


or, right here

In 2006, my brother Dan and I bought the Silent Movie Theater, because we fell in love with the building and dreamed of creating a new style of creative programming that did not yet exist in Los Angeles. Soon after, we partnered with a board of individuals to found and run the project called Cinefamily.

Dan and I oversaw the theater?s design and development. Once day-to-day operations began, we stepped back to work on other projects ? my day job as a cartoonist and illustrator, and Dan?s in real estate development and management. We trusted the people in charge and stayed connected to the theater by serving on its board intermittently. In hindsight, I realize we didn?t have an accurate perception of the theater?s work environment. It wasn?t until I became a part-time employee as art director in 2016, that my understanding of Cinefamily changed altogether. Physically being in the building on a regular basis showed me how toxic and unprofessional the workplace had become.

We knew serious action had to be taken. Dan and I proposed a structural change to the Cinefamily board, specifically the removal of the co-founder/creative director. However, the board could not come to a consensus, which was necessary for any changes to be enacted. Given our inability to make any progress on the issue, Dan and I seriously considered evicting Cinefamily unless major organizational changes took place, but we knew that this action would mean many staffers would lose their jobs. We thought we could salvage the nonprofit entity by jettisoning the negative elements of the theater, so we met with potential replacement candidates to present to the board. The board seemed receptive to the plan ? Cinefamily had been discussing relocation for some time and was about to announce the resignation of the creative director. We thought this would resolve the issues at the heart of Cinefamily, so we waited. Regretfully, it took the voices of the employees who experienced the toxic work environment first hand to finally bring an end to it.

We?ve been thinking long and hard over the last two years, as we attempted to correct past wrongs by managing the theater?s closure. It?s been a struggle to come to terms with everything that happened at Cinefamily, and we regret not responding immediately. Raising our concerns fell wildly short of definitive action. Dan and I accept full responsibility for this failure and apologize to everyone hurt by our inaction.

In light of all this, Fairfax Cinema is our way of trying to make right with the community as a whole. From its inception as Old Time Movies on, this building has been an LA institution. We do not want to erase or deny any part of the building?s history, good or bad. Instead, we are committed to establishing a venue that is for all of Los Angeles?a safe space where people can come together, share the joys of cinema, and have their voices heard.

We?ve heard you, and we?re still listening. We?re glad people are this engaged and concerned. We are too. One of our goals for Fairfax Cinema is full transparency, by communicating openly both within the company and with the public. We?ve implemented strict HR policies with third party oversight from an outside company. We have an entirely new team operating the theater, and as owners we are actively involved in maintaining an inclusive and healthy workplace.

We understand if this letter is received as too little too late. It has taken us too long to address these issues publicly. We know we can never repair the harm that?s already been done, but we are learning from it. We are working towards creating a space that will be a force for good in the L.A. community.

Sincerely,


Sammy Harkham

Co-owner
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Ok. Old man j.d. is gonna impart some wisdom.

We ALL want to go back to the movies.
And, AMC already proved they aren't to be trusted. And other theaters simply refusing to make mandatory. So, if you believe science...this should concern you.

There are alternatives. Trusted places that would rather inconvenience their patrons than spread disease.

Alamo Drafthouse WILL Require Moviegoers To Wear Masks
https://screenrant.com/alamo-drafthouse-movie-theaters-masks-required-reopening-coronavirus/

And, THEY WILL ENFORCE.

As far as boutique, the Arena Cinelounge was supposed to open today. California put a pause, and they are waiting. This place, even before, was spotless. And they cater to small audiences.

Arclight/New Beverly have made no declarations.

But if you NEED to go to a theater, avoid the multiplexes. At least till next year.
 
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