Government Investigation

March 25, 2018 in original reporting

In December 2017, CinefamilyAccountability submitted a 77-page report to local, state, and federal governmental offices, presenting evidence and urging an investigation of Cinefamily and its board. As a rule, governmental investigators do not provide information on—or even confirm the existence of—an ongoing investigation.

We can only confirm that the report was received by the California Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Franchise Tax Board; the IRS; the L.A. City Attorney; and the local Council office.

UPDATE 4/2/18: The L.A. District Attorney's office has also confirmed receipt.

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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