Research Overview

The original reporting and commentary on this website are informed by human sources (including from a 2017 staff survey), and by verified primary source documents which we make available as a resource to the community.

These documents, taken together, paint a picture of a corporation in seemingly constant disarray, characterized by poor financial and operational controls, and by improper labor and regulatory practices. Governance was dysfunctional and secretive, with paperwork and legal niceties often overlooked. Cinefamily’s public engagement — in the press and with members and staff — has fallen far short.

Please explore this research library through the links below or under “Research” in the website menu. Please contact us with questions or if you have documents to contribute.

  • Cinefamily leadership explains organizational control and governance, including Dan and Sammy Harkham, Hadrian Belove, the Board of Directors, and the Advisory Board. Drawn from government filings and public statements.

  • Communications includes public statements from Cinefamily’s Board of Directors, Cinefamily leaders accused of improper behavior, and Cinefamily staff. Also includes correspondence between this website and various representatives of Cinefamily and Fairfax Cinema.

  • Corporate and legal documents come directly from the government, and include foundational documents (governing an entity’s basic existence, purpose, and structure) along with quotidian paperwork requirements. Cinefamily’s legal governance is unusual for a non-profit, and the organization is not in good standing with the state of California. The dates of the Fairfax Cinema filings belie public Cinefamily statements.

  • Licenses and permits include local government filings governing land uses, public health, and sensitive business activities like alcohol sales. Fairfax Cinema appears to have secured some operating permits late, and others not at all.

  • Finances include both official government tax filings, as well as unpublished internal and sensitive Cinefamily financial data, including government debts and tax liens, allegedly improper purchases, and discrepancies in the daily box office numbers submitted to film studios.

  • Press clips on the Cinefamily collapse, the L.A. film scene, and institutional responsibility.

  • DIY research provides links to all of these sources. We encourage readers to recreate our work.

Since much of this information is technical and legal, we found these secondary guides — from the California Attorney General (for nonprofits and their dissolution) and from the nonprofit Public Counsel — to be helpful.

We strive to provide timely updates; please note information on this site may not necessarily include the most current or relevant documents available. More information about this website can be found here.