Planned 2018 Re-Opening for Cinefamily / Fairfax Cinema

According to several sources, Cinefamily’s planned reopening as Fairfax Cinema is slated for late 2018. (In nearby posts, Cinefamily/Fairfax reversed itself and has not replied to multiple requests for comment, but a former board member breaks his silence. The accountant at Harkham Family Enterprises appears to assume responsibility for Cinefamily’s debts, but some film distributors and Cinefamily donors balk at supporting this new/old operation. Also: updates on government investigations and Cinefamily-owned assets, and Cinefamily/Fairfax’s Erin Hensley goes on the attack against this website.)

*Sent in by an eagle-eyed reader walking past the theater. Is the mezzanine being renovated?*

2018 Re-Opening

Former Cinefamily Program Director Kate Rouhandeh will be Fairfax’s Director of Programming. She tells film distribution companies Fairfax is currently being renovated and is gearing up for an opening at the end of summer or in the fall. According to emails from Rouhandeh provided to CinefamilyAccountability, Rouhandeh confirms this website’s previous reporting, noting the re-launch “will operate for profit, as an LLC, and will focus on repertory programming alongside some first-run films and special events.” Rouhandeh has not responded to outreach.

In her email, Rouhandeh nods toward distributors’ wariness, acknowledging she has “understandably received some questions about Cinefamily’s debt and other loose ends.” (This website has spoken to several distributors who claim debts, collectively, of tens of thousands of dollars.)

Harkham & Cinefamily Debts

In her email, Rouhandeh maintains Fairfax is a separate entity and is not responsible for Cinefamily’s debts. She then provides a contact person for the settlement of Cinefamily debts: Fanny Chen, reportedly the accountant for Harkham Family Enterprises, owner of the Silent Movie Theater. Reached by email, Chen says “I volunteered taking of Cinefamily outstanding balance” [sic]. (The author of this site is owed approximately $250 by Cinefamily.) Creditors should contact Chen at fannyc [at] jonathanmartin [dot] com.

Despite assertions from Rouhandeh and Erin Hensley (Cinefamily’s accountant and Fairfax’s Managing Director) that Fairfax is a separate and unconnected entity, this website will continue to use the term “rebrand.” Dan Harkham was the sole owner of Cinefamily and is the sole owner of Fairfax; all confirmed Fairfax staff have been drawn from Cinefamily ranks; Fairfax is following Cinefamily’s programming model; Fairfax is facilitating the settlement of Cinefamily’s debts. Neither Harkham nor Hensley nor Rouhandeh have responded to multiple requests for clarification regarding connections between Cinefamily and Fairfax.

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.

Please reach out with questions, complaints, tips.