tax lien

Over $1M Missing in Latest Cinefamily Tax Filing

November 26, 2019 in original reporting

Dan Harkham filed Cinefamily’s 2017 taxes. Most of the document is either missing or incoherent, but we try to make sense of the numbers.

Fairfax Cinema Lobbyist: Change of Plans

June 02, 2019 in original reporting

A disclosure from the Harkhams’ former lobbyist raises new questions about the viability of the project, and signals that the renovations and rebranding may not be on track.

Harkhams Make (Yet Another) Half-Assed Effort to Run Away from Cinefamily

April 06, 2019 in original reporting

Cinefamily ceased operations in August 2017 and Dan Harkham launched Fairfax Cinema shortly thereafter. But Cinefamily continues to exist as a legal entity. Newly-discovered state filings suggest Cinefamily finally closed. Except here’s why it didn’t.

Fairfax Attempts Opening, Cinefamily Gets More Tax Woes

February 03, 2019 in original reporting

In late 2018 the Harkhams applied for a Certificate of Occupancy from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety for the Silent Movie Theater’s Fairfax Cinema (Cinefamily). As of this writing in early February 2019, the application is still pending. New documents indicate that plans for the venue may have changed yet again, possibly related to an alcohol licensing challenge with the state ABC.

The People of the State of California vs. Cinefamily ???

September 14, 2018 in original reporting

California files a tax lien against Cinefamily and the Silent Movie Theater. Again. The Harkhams and Fairfax Cinema should probably deal with this sort of thing.

Cinefamily / Fairfax Cinema Keep Missing Legal Deadlines

February 02, 2018 in original reporting, short feature

Both Cinefamily and Fairfax Cinema seem to be missing more legal deadlines with the potential to affect donors and staff . We take a look at what’s late, and at Dan Harkham and Erin Hensley’s track record with appropriate record-keeping.

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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