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The Brattle Film Foundation is working toward a time when innovative and essential works of cinema are respected, viewed, and preserved alongside other great works of art. The Foundation is committed to providing audiences access to quality and diverse film presentation, education, and information, in theatres and on-line. With the historic Brattle Theatre as a base, the Foundation seeks to expand the definition of great cinema to include works from all countries and cultures. At a time when art houses and independent theatres continue to be consumed by large conglomerates, the Brattle Theatre has remained successful and true to its roots as a venue to see innovative and essential films. Starting with the programming of Cy Harvey and Bryant Halliday in 1953, the Brattle has been the unofficial film school for Boston-area residents, showing everything from Casablanca to Breaking the Waves, the works of Buster Keaton to Wong Kar-Wai. The Theater's diverse programming over the years has brought many films to view that might have been forgotten or missed. Some highlights of the Brattle's programming over the last fifty years:
The Foundation's Mission Our mission is to celebrate film as a fine and popular art form, with important cultural and historical value, through preservation, distribution and exhibition. The Foundation's Goals
The Current Situation The Foundation has already accomplished our first goal of updating and renovating the Brattle Theatre. This work was completed within 6 months of taking over operations of the Brattle. The renovations included replacing the theater seats, updating the sound and projection equipment, repainting the interior, as well as many other capital improvements. We have also undertaken an extensive outreach and marketing campaign via the media and grassroots networks to educate locally and nationally about the Brattle Film Foundation, the importance of film preservation, the status of film as an art form, and the cultural value of this medium. Our commitment is to continue the tradition of presenting a diverse program of repertory film series drawing from the best of world, independent and classic cinema, and premieres of important new work and restored classics. Our next and most important goal is financial stability. The year 2004 is financially crucial: The Brattle Theatre has been operating in the red for the last decade, and when the BFF took over operations of the venerable cinema three years ago we knew that stabilizing the budget was going to be our biggest challenge. Our goal in 2004 is to make the theater operations budget break even, enabling the Foundation to move into the fields of film preservation and distribution. Each year we close the gap, bringing us closer and closer to being "in the black." Our alternative revenue sources (theater rentals, memberships, and corporate support) are right on track for this important startup challenge. Unfortunately, 2004 has also seen a large drop in box office sales - a trend that has been seen across the board with cinemas in the area. With the decrease in arts funding and overall budget cuts in the nonprofit sector alongside the dip in our largest income soure - ticket sales - breaking even has become a larger challenge than we anticipated for this year.
In order to address this we are expanding our grassroots marketing even wider including attending college orientation events, creating a "street team" to flyer the Brattle's neighborhood and perform outreach for special events. We have also made the harder decisions of cutting a portion of our theater staff shifts and incorporating volunteer ushers, as well as altering our repertory calendar from a vertical series style to a more traditional horizontal style, where series travel over a specific week rather than on one day of a week over a long period of time. This is a suggestion received directly from our audience that we are hoping will make our calendar more vital while still preserving the diversity of programming that the Foundation was created to preserve. These changes will be visible on our September/October 2004 calendar, with our vertical programming style making guest appearances during each summer season. The successes of the Brattle Theatre are the inspiration for the Brattle Film Foundation, but our goals aim beyond just operating the theater. In order to continue our efforts in education, accessibility and diversity, the Foundation will preserve films suffering from neglect and distribute innovative new works alongside these preserved classics to theatres nationwide. The Brattle Film Foundation will use the information culled from running a repertory theater to target films for our distribution and preservation efforts, specifically focusing on films by under-served populations, lost films from our past, and films using innovative technology and technique for their storytelling. The Foundation website will promote our activities and provide an educational complement to our film programming. A long-term goal of the Brattle Film Foundation is to open a film resource and education center for the public. The center will house and exhibit collections of historic film materials, contain a print library and viewing stations to watch works on video, host visiting filmmakers and serve as the epicenter for the foundation's programs. Who We Are Ned Hinkle - Ned Hinkle brings to the Brattle 10 years of programming and event logistics experience from both the film and music industries. After receiving his BA from Bard College in 1995 where he studied film and music, Ned began working at the Middle East Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There he was quickly promoted from design intern to programmer for the larger music hall. He left the club to work for Sub Pop Records as the Vice President of Tour Coordination. After three years in the music business, Ned's first love of film called him back and he began working for Beacon Cinema Group, then the company that operated and programmed the Brattle Theatre. For Beacon Cinema Group, Ned designed the Brattle's bi-monthly calendar, built the theatre's first website, and assisted both Directors with marketing and programming as necessary. After five years with Beacon Cinema Group, Ned founded the Brattle Film Foundation with Ivy Moylan and took over the lease of the Brattle Theatre. Ned has taken all of his experience and brought it to the foundation as our Creative Director where he works on all programming and marketing tasks. Ivy Moylan - Since she graduated in 1995 from Boston University's College of Communication with a BA in film studies, Ivy has spent ten years gathering experience in operations and management in retail, office and arts environments. This combination of film knowledge combined with administrative know-how makes her an invaluable asset for the Foundation. Her drive to work in unique and challenging environments has led her to positions that span the breadth of the film industry. As the special events coordinator for FEI Theatres, she was in charge of managing frequent special film events and musical performances in two art-deco movie theaters. As a freelance coordinator and project manager she has gained extensive experience with film festivals, including the New England Film and Video Festival, the Boston Jewish Film Festival, and the new Independent Film Festival of Boston. Ivy continues to work as contractor for regional film festivals, most recently for the Provincetown International Film Festival. In addition to her management and theater experience, Ivy also recently began teaching film history classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education where she has found yet another outlet to share her passion for cinema with the world. Ivy's first experience at the Brattle Theatre came in 1995 when she created the position of operations manager, which she held for two years. She remained in close contact with her former employers and the theatre staff and jumped at the opportunity to partner with Ned to found the Brattle Film Foundation and take over the lease of the Brattle Theatre. As Executive Director, Ivy supervises all aspects of the foundation and theatre business, works with the foundation board and volunteers and staff on various projects and events. How To Help There are many ways to become more involved with the Brattle Film Foundation. You can:
If you are interested in becoming more involved in the Brattle Film Foundation and helping us preserve the longstanding tradition of quality film programming at the Brattle, or if you can assist us in moving into film preservation and distribution, please contact Ivy Moylan at ivy@brattlefilm.org or by phone at 617 876-8021. Please also take a moment to register with us so we can keep you up to date on our progress and inform you of upcoming Brattle Film Foundation events. Board of Trustees
Michael Bowes (Board Chair) Michael
Colford Claudia
Haydon Edward
Hinkle (Treasurer) Megan
Hurst (Clerk) Siobhan
O'Riordhan Julianne
Pemberton Andres
Saenz Francis
X. Scire (updated 8/2004) 2003 Donor Roster The Brattle Film Foundation would like to acknowledge the many people who have made financial contributions to the Brattle Theatre. Visit our Donor Roster to view a list of individuals, institutions, and businesses who contributed in 2003. |
The
Brattle Film Foundation,
a nonprofit organization, operates and programs the Brattle Theatre
in Harvard Square, Cambridge. 
