Exclusive Pics of Cinefamily / Fairfax Renovations: Frontage or Fronting?

July 16, 2019 in original reporting, short feature

An intrepid visitor to 611 N. Fairfax sends along these fresh pictures of the renovations Dan and Sammy Harkham are making to the Silent Movie Theater.

This website has previously reported about the Harkhams’ plans to rebrand Cinefamily as Fairfax Cinema. Fairfax was originally set to open in 2018, then faced new tax liens, litigation, and regulatory challenges. More recently, a former Harkham lobbyist reports the existing plans have been scrapped. But the Harkhams had already secured financing, and it appears the renovations have continued to move forward.

Here’s the new front of the building following the modernization of the historic theater. The boys really seem to like the color white.

Cinefamily fairfax cinema L.A. silent movie theater.jpg

Here’s the back courtyard:

And inside:

More updates as we have them! We’ll be particularly keen to see the anticipated new kitchen!

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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