Let me start my last column with heartfelt congratulations to Dave Huffman who took over the Director role on June 1st! I’m looking forward to following the exciting programming Dave is planning to bring to the Cinematheque.
“We are in the Golden Age of repertory cinema.” This was the message shared at this year’s Programmer’s Jam that took place in LA earlier in May: a convention of programmers and distributors focusing on repertory cinema. After four days of presentations and screenings, I left LA with a strengthened sense of hope and high spirits. I met colleagues who run theaters as small as 25 seats to as big as 800. It was affirming to be among people who not only share the passion but also understand the labor and undertaking that goes into programming. I found excitement once again for the small, for the adventurous, and for the experimental, and I was actively encouraged to forge my own way off the beaten path – as one of the co-organizers of the convention told me, “this is the time to do it.”
When I had started my role at the Cinematheque, I was thinking of questions of legacy and inheritance: What does it mean to take over from a founder? What does it mean to be an established institution and what kinds of expectations does that bring with it? What does it mean to change, to renew, to start again, and how do you invite people in and ask for their support, curiosity, and excitement? How do you make yourself home in a new place, and feel welcome? A lot of these questions have been answered during my two years in Cleveland, and I learned a lot. They are now followed by new questions as I look into new horizons. One lesson that remains is to not be beholden to what’s been done while being appreciative of what’s been bequeathed to you. Learn from the past, live in the present, build for the future.
I firmly believe that places like the Cinematheque will never lose their value, even when the very nature of work, collectivity, and individuality is changing. Under the right direction, they will not only survive but thrive. I found a lot of meaning and purpose in the work that went into the Cinematheque’s thriving, and I am certain that Dave feels the same. I will surely miss doing it along with you all, the audience, but I know you are in good hands.
Lastly, if you see one movie for my sake in this calendar, make it All About Lily Chou Chou. It holds a very special place in my heart, and its melancholy still resonates in me to this day. I am moved and grateful that it made it into my last program.
Bilgesu Sisman, Former Director of Cinematheque