Confirmed: Cinefamily Becomes Fairfax Cinema

January 10, 2018 in original reporting, commentary

In which we contemplate what it means that Dan Harkham, owner of the Silent Movie Theater and controller of Cinefamily, filed papers back in October 2017 for something called Fairfax Cinema.

Announcing Fairfax Cinema! (Cinefamily Part 2?)

January 08, 2018 in original reporting

While we’ve been waiting for Cinefamily updates, Dan Harkham & some of the old Cinefamily team have been quietly making other plans for Fairfax Cinema at the Silent Movie Theater.

News of Cinefamily's Death Greatly Exaggerated (By Cinefamily)

January 03, 2018 in original reporting

On November 14, the Cinefamily Board of Directors announced an intention to dissolve. But the Attorney General's office reports that Cinefamily looks to be around for a while yet.

TL;DR

For the decade of Cinefamily’s existence, and for a certain sort of weirdo, the nonprofit single-screen cinematheque was the best thing about L.A.

In August 2017 we discovered Cinefamily was also a harmful place, especially for workers and for women. Reporting at the time focused on workplace sexual harassment, but when this website investigated we found a deeper rot. Former insiders told us of alleged assault, retaliation, wage theft, and embezzlement—as well as fraud against distributors, taxpayers, and regulators.

Cinefamily’s $2 million annual budget was subsidized by taxpayers and overseen by professionals. If the board of directors had done its job, damage may have been reduced, and Cinefamily might still exist. Instead, evidence indicates some directors were not only aware of problems, but were involved in covering them up.

This website provides original reporting as an ongoing call for institutional responsibility. We seek what the board promised: a credible and comprehensive accounting, victims heard and creditors paid, and a new approach to corporate governance and community accountability.

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