[Frameworks] Millennium Film Workshop R.I.P.

[Michael Betancourt]

The role and importance of institutions is one of those things that I think
gets ignored too often. Organizations fill-in in ways that online things
don't, providing support and help in ways both obvious and subtle. But I
have to admit that I feel ambivalent about them since too often
institutions (and I'm speaking generally, not about Millennium or any
particular one here) become narrow support systems only for their immediate
friends and collaborators, closed to anyone not already on the inside. I
think that sense of being exclusive and closed is a big part of what led to
the "get own stuff, abandon peers" that has happened with digital.
Greater access, especially with the digital and Internet, creates an
illusion of not needing the same supports that historically made media
working possible, especially since (I remember this in the 1980s and 1990s)
there was a real antipathy to anyone working with video, DV or just simply
not working on film. I think the foundations of the current situation begin
with that medium-specific bias, one that I experienced myself.

Michael Betancourt
Savannah, GA USA


michaelbetancourt.com
twitter.com/cinegraphic | vimeo.com/cinegraphic
www.cinegraphic.net | the avant-garde film & video blog

On Sat, Jul 11, 2015 at 3:34 PM, Francisco Torres <fjtorrespr at gmail.com>
wrote:

> It is worth mentioning that this is just the latest example of something
> that has been going on since the late 90s, the dismantling of film maker's
> organizations and institutions in the wake of the digital video era. This
> trend has affected all kind of film making organizations, not just the
> experimental community.Seems to me that since many people (wrongly) figured
> that a digital camera and a PC could replace the infrastructure of film
> they decided to get their own stuff and abandon their peers. Very sad.
>
> 2015-07-10 17:59 GMT-04:00 Sasha Janerus <sasha.janerus at gmail.com>:
>
>> Dear Frameworkers,
>>
>> The subject line is a slight exaggeration, meant to get your attention.
>> I've cut all direct ties with the place, but from what hear it isn't far
>> from the truth. Only two of the five elected board members remain. The
>> place has been spectacularly mismanaged by Peter Kingsbury. While I was
>> still around, Peter repeatedly assured me that new elections were just
>> around the corner. Elections will soon be two years overdue. Their website
>> states that "Millennium has suspended public access hours," but to my
>> knowledge none of its members or stakeholders have yet been consulted. It's
>> time to get together and decide how to wind this thing down. Democratically
>> and transparently. Before Peter makes off with the with whatever funds are
>> left.
>>
>> Sincerely
>>
>> Sasha Janerus
>>
>> P.S. Attached is MFW's FY2015--i.e. through June 2015--operating budget,
>> drafted--and apoplectically defended--on September 16, 2014 by PK, at my
>> insistence. There are some interesting figures here: $39,955 in workshop
>> fees! Eager to learn how that worked out...
>>
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>>
>
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