From: Steve Polta (email suppressed)
Date: Tue Aug 19 2008 - 15:33:47 PDT
I can't explain it (because I don't know) but it is incorrect to assume (in this case) that incompetent artists sank FAF. Indeed it was founded by artists in the mid-70s but it has long been under the leadership of people of solidly administrative minds (staff and board); no way did artists "take it over."
In my personal opinion, FAF's increased interest in supporting topical docs, indie features and other issue-related work, was a bummer, not that actively supporting avant-garde film would have been the solution to its problems.
As for "who got their hands on it?" I posted last week about the sale of equipment. Archives/documentation of its history/projects is allegedly going to an archives (I dunno where) which will presumably provide some form of public access (access which was not provided by FAF, btw). San Francisco Cinematheque acquired a 13 year run of FAF's monthly journal (which is perusable by the public).
On an up note, I learned about 20 minutes ago that TILT, FAF's educational media literacy and filmmaking program for kids and high-schoolers (which has its own video cameras, etc) did *not* to to SFIFF and continues on (www.tiltmedia.org/).
Steve Polta
San Francisco Cinematheque
--- On Tue, 8/19/08, Adam Hyman <email suppressed> wrote:
> From: Adam Hyman <email suppressed>
> Subject: Re: FAF
> To: email suppressed
> Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 2:00 PM
> #yiv1089350892 {font-family:Geneva, Arial, Helvetica,
> sans-serif;font-size:9pt;background-color:#ffffff;color:black;}What
> a short-sighted view. It probably went under because
> artists took it over and were too busy creating to raise
> money. Well, at the very least we know that people who
> weren't good enough at business and fund-raising were
> running it.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: Jim Carlile
>
> Sent: Aug 19, 2008 4:34 PM
>
> To: email suppressed
>
> Subject: Re: FAF
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 8/19/2008 1:28:01 P.M. Pacific Daylight
> Time,
> email suppressed writes:
> If
> anyone is interested in following the changes concerning
> Film Arts Foundation
> in San Francisco, the San Francisco Film Society (the org
> that runs the Sf
> International Film Festival) issued the following
> statement a few minutes ago.
> In short they are assuming "full stewardship of its
> activities," i.e.
> granting filmmakers and (hard to believe but they say)
> teaching classes. Does
> not look like they will be providing access to optical
> printers, Steenbecks,
> Bolexes...
>
>
>
> Typical-- it's all of the institutional, bureaucratic
> crap, and none of the
> craftsman stuff. Which is what the FAF was all about!
>
> The bane of the age--- it's all business, with lip
> service being paid
> to art. Who got their hands on this once great
> organization? Librarians?
> "Archivists"? Grant-writers?
>
> Obviously not anyone who does anything, i.e . the artists.
> What a travesty.
> This is what happens when you get in a position so that the
> money brokers and
> the lawyers take over. The property will be the next to get
> cashed
> out.
>
>
> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find
> your travel deal here.
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> <email suppressed>.
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at
> <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.