News & Notes — Message from Eric Ford, co-founder of the Burlington Film Society
We have some news on the future of the Burlington Film Society to share. After much contemplation, we have decided to discontinue the Burlington Film Society as a program of the Vermont International Film Foundation. Four years of continuous monthly screenings have been very successful and core to the mission that the Film Society was set out to fulfill. Nearly three years ago, when BFS became a program of VTIFF, we benefited from the stability and structure of a parent organization, offering financial support and staffing to help administer the program. Over the years we have presented activities that were supplementary to the official screenings, such as post screening discussions, blog posts and have brought in speakers and filmmakers. However, because of our limited capacity, these were not as frequent as the term “society” merits. So now, in an effort to simplify and best serve members and our audience, we are renaming the monthly BFS Screenings as VTIFF Screenings.
So, what does that mean pragmatically? We will continue to offer the same monthly film screenings at Main Street Landing. The types of films presented and discussion will not change. VTIFF member benefits will also not be materially altered. Other changes will be to phase out BFS social media, and alter the section of the VTIFF website to reflect this change. These changes will go into effect right away. You will still get all the great events, info and local film notices that you are used to, except now they will come directly from VTIFF – if you aren’t already following VTIFF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – please make sure to!
Please know that these decisions are not made lightly and we hope that they will yield better understanding and participation in programming.
We hugely appreciate everyone’s support and participation over the past several months/years, and hope that you will continue to engage with VTIFF to support our mission of community cinema.
Thank you,
Eric Ford
Co-Founder, Burlington Film Society