On the Record with Cinefamily / Fairfax

Erin Hensley: Talking About Talking

In January 2018, CinefamilyAccountability broke the news that Dan Harkham was rebranding Cinefamily into Fairfax Cinema. Harkham is listed as the principal on both Cinefamily and Fairfax corporate filings; I wrote to him seeking comment. Harkham did not reply, but I received word from Erin Hensley. Hensley had been Cinefamily’s accountant, staying on to manage the transition to Fairfax.

Hensley assumes a chirpy tone incongruent with the subject matter. After a moment of pause, I agree to a call. Hensley refuses to clarify any discussion topics.

A week after I request a phone number for the call, and less than an hour before the call, Hensley provides a conference call number.

We spoke for about 90 minutes, mostly off the record (at Hensley’s request). Days pass before she denies recording the call.

I send follow-up questions, and I provide the reporting timeline. Hensley does not reply for days.

Minutes before the scheduled time, she asks for more time; I provide options but get no reply.

Over the weekend I post a brief update. Then a series of emails sets a call for February 20, 2018. (We initially spoke on January 24, 2018.) On the appointed morning, I send Hensley my phone number, explaining my wariness of the conference call line. Just before the call, Hensley simultaneously responds to—and ignores—my earlier email. I reply within minutes.

The appointed time comes and goes. I try, unsuccessfully, to call Hensley. Then I email her. She replies quickly, and her tone has changed.

I mistakenly take Hensley’s pretextual outrage seriously.

Hensley never explained the purported violation. Unbeknownst to me, she was at that moment (and through the next day) writing to my employer.

A few days later I was made aware of Hensley’s actions. I reached out to set the record straight; she did not reply.

Months later, in July 2018, I discovered public social media posts where Hensley openly discusses painful Cinefamily experiences that were previously off-the-record. Sensing an opening, I reached back out. Hensley’s reply was the final email I received from her.