Love Independent Film? Love Arts in General? Then Let’s Keep Them Alive!

When I came out to interview at Marin Academy seventeen years and several lifetimes ago, I was thrilled to discover that there was -- and still is -- a beautifully restored three-screen independent movie theater in the heart of downtown. I was staying at the Panama Hotel -- the kind of genuinely interesting old hotel that has at least one room with the tub/shower in the middle of the bedroom -- a few short blocks away and since I didn’t know a soul in Marin, I decided to go see Winged Migration the night after my interview, and I was blown away by the beauty of the main room (and the movie was pretty good too). I went back the next night to see another film, which I think was a Danish comedy that was...low key. My main takeaway from the experience, though, was that I knew if I was offered the job at MA, I could move to San Rafael knowing that great film would always be readily available.

I challenge you to find a more beautiful screening room...

So I did get -- and take -- the job (after receiving the offer mid-nap and accepting groggily before asking about salary...always a canny negotiator), and as luck would have it, one of my advisees in my first cohort was the daughter of Mark Fishkin, the Founder and Director of the California Film Institute. One would be hard-pressed to find someone who loves film more or has done more to build a community around film than Mark, and he has put an extraordinary team in place at CFI. Over the years, I have had the pleasure to see countless films at the Rafael and many more during their signature event, the Mill Valley Film Festival. I have had the pleasure of befriending and working with their Director of Development Liana Bender, their Director of Education Joanne Parsont, and their Education Outreach Manager Shakira Refos to bring filmmakers into my classes and to bring my students to the Rafael -- with a major assist from Operations Manager Dan Zastrow, who runs...everything else at the theater including the popcorn machine -- for our Minicourse week. But that is just a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg of their educational programming, which brings film to dozens of schools throughout the Bay Area and provides thousands of students free access (and transportation and lunches) to their annual Environmental Youth Forum, offers free filmmaking workshops through their “My Place, My Story” program and Summerfilm offerings, provides training for students to program festivals, and more.

But why am I telling you this? Because CFI -- and the Rafael Theater -- like so many arts-related nonprofits -- are in a terrible spot right now as their major ways of earning operational revenue are shut down for rather obvious reasons. Beyond just closing the theater, CFI has had to postpone both the DocLands Festival and the Environmental Youth Forum. I know that arts-related nonprofits are rightfully not the first thing on everyone’s mind right now, but if you have the desire and capacity, now would be a really good time to make a donation, or in the case of CFI, Bay Area friends, join as a member to do what we can do to keep them sustained in this challenging environment. Without art, life gets boring pretty quickly, and now more than ever, we need stories to keep us connected and to maintain us as that’s what’s worked for humanity in the past. So check out their site, and here's the super-cool thing -- you can actually still buy tickets and stream some first-run movies at home -- and see what they are offering in terms of online programming for members and the world at large, and if you can help them weather the financial storm, awesome.

Elsewhere, there are campaigns running to support independent theaters sponsored by the Criterion Collection (about whom you can read in my previous post). Many film festivals have found ways to bring their programming online, and just this morning, SXSW announced plans to partner with Amazon Prime to bring films that would have screened this year to your living room. And it isn’t just the film universe that is making adjustments to bring programming to you and to keep artists working. Berkeley Rep and other theater companies have launched sustenance campaigns and are offering some online programming. The Alley Theater in Houston -- currently under the direction of Cutting Ball founder and Bay Area sometimes resident Rob Melrose --has filmed their recent production of “1984” and offered it for streaming through April 12th. Check out your local institutions and see what else is out there -- but hundreds of museums and other sites have put their collections online to keep us immersed in art while we need it most. I know it seems like a strange priority for which to advocate and by all means food banks and medical assistance funds should be first priority, but if you can spare anything for the independent arts, it sure would be good to have them there when we can go see things in person...hopefully sooner than later.