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Jan. 1, Cin£, Athens' downtown arthouse dnema for
the past five years, made the transition from pri
vately owned business to 501(c)3 nonprofit entity. Under the
stewardship of Brigitta Hangartner, the theater's founder and
erstwhile director, Cin6 became the treasured hub of Athens
film culture; now, as the nonprofit Athens Rim Arts Institute
assumes responsibility for its operations, the arthouse faces a
new set of challenges and opportunities.
Early this year, AFAI hired Gabe Wardell as Cine's executive
director; he officially begins his new job Feb. 1. The director of
the Atlanta Rim Festival from 2006-2010 and an organizer of
several other festivals over the past 20 years, Wardell has spent
his adult life working in the field of independent film, from
the projection booth to the fundraising circuit and numerous
points in between.
Flagpole spoke to Wardell last week, as he prepared to take
up his duties in Athens. The conversation has been edited for
print, but a much longer version is available at www.flagpole.
com. After a recap of Warden's background, the talk turned to
the subject of programming films
for an arthouse audience.
FP: There's a very real sense in
which—you can call it building up
the trust of the audience, or you
can call it "itraining” them as far
as what to expect—but that has
' to happen before you can expect
people to come and see things that
they're not familiar with, which
goes for repertory as welt as new
stuff... What are your thoughts
far find, as far as that goes?
Do you have some specific ideas
about how you intend to approach
programming?
GW: Yes. Absolutely. There
are a few things that I think are
critical... When I was at [the AFI
Silver Theatre in the Washington,
D.C. area]—and Fm not a huge
math and numbers kind of guy—
but I learned very quickly how to
read the data for the film grosses,
and how they're performing; which
ones have the best chance for
longevity, as opposed to turning
it over every week... The critical
thing is to respond to the needs of your audience...
It really is a matter of viewing the data, and the data will
answer for you. They will tell you. And usually, once you have
that in place, you can start to find the comparable titles. And
there's obviously exceptions, and there's obviously breakouts,
but in general, once you have a sense that—if a certain form
of film performs well for you, then it indicates the other kinds
of films that will perform well...
FP: What about repertory stuff? Do you see that as some
thing that can or should be expanded in Cinq's programming?
GW: Absolutely. I think there are two things that make rep
ertory rewarding and challenging. Repertory, I think, should be
a staple of what [arthousesj do. I think there's a responsibil
ity to keep it fresh, and {also} to keep showing the films that
people have fallen in love with... They're the essentials that
built the house, and you have to keep acknowledging them and
exposing new audiences to them and creating those experi
ences. I think the way to make it work—and we can obviously
do some experimentation with it—I think that creating some
sense of regularity to certain kinds of programming... You pick
a few slots that you're always going to run a standard series in.
" I think that's one very effective way to do it
There's bringing in speakers... I like to look at ft like a book
dub: Fd love to create that type of regularity. And I think we'd
figure out what we're doing with the membership base, finding
a way to reward membership... I think them's ways to feep
it fresh, to keep audiences interested, and to showcase the
breadth of contemporary and classic film.
FP: I hope so. So, what's the difference between a nonprofit
arthouse and a privately owned one? This is the transition that
find's making; do you see particular opportunities in that transi
tion? What can a theater do as a nonprofit that find hasn't been
able to do as privately owned?
• GW: That's a great question. I think the first thing that
people need to understand about 'What is a nonprofit?"—one
of the cornerstones of being a 501(c)3—is that there techni
cally is no owner, and the motive for what you do is not based
on crass, commercial bottom line. That said, it doesn't give
you license to not respond to market forces. Nonprofits are not
companies that are designed to run into,the ground, or compa
nies that sit there and beg people to give them money because
they can't survive otherwise. Nonprofits are companies that run
for the public good, but they run in the service of a public mis
sion... They are owned by the community as a whole, so they
have to answer to that community
and respond to that community...
Which is, I think, what makes
them special.
In the case of a transition from
a for-profit, privately owned entity
to a 501 (c)3 nonprofit, the big
gest opportunity right out of the
gate is a membership program.
Anybody can start a membership
program, but when you're a non
profit, there's a different level of
engagement with the community.
So, people are agreeing not only
to patronize your company, but to
essentially become public support
ers of it... It means that if you
are successful at fulfilling your
mission and serving your com
munity, you should be successful
at encouraging people to become
members. People should join out
of a sense of public responsibil
ity: you're not just filling coffers;
you're giving money to the orga
nization because you believe that
they can help fulfill this mission...
The second part of that is, you
are also eligible to apply for public
support from people who give grants... government entities...
then, there are also foundations, private givers out there that
are always looking to underwrite entities like nonprofit arts
institutions... There are a dozen [different} foundations out
there that may be helpful in [enabling} Cin6 to fulfill certain
goals and certain missions in the course of the next year.
FP: So, you start February 1. Any final thoughts, by way of
introducing yourself as you arrive?
GW: I can't wait to get to know people, both individually,
and to get to know the community collectively. I'm a big fan
of Athens, as a town and as a community. As somebody who's
been living in Atlanta for the last couple of years, I look at
Athens with a certain degree of envy... I feel like there's more
of a cohesion to the community of Athens—a strong invest
ment across the board, both as a pride in that community and
a sense of commitment to institutions and the arts, and sus
taining this reputation over time. It's something that people
actually are adamant about—they defend it And, that sense
of pride is something that can't be replicated; it can't be faked.
Knowing that was a huge part of my motivation for even
applying for the position. Because I didn't want to enter the
marketplace where I was gonna be swimming upstream, con
stantly fighting the tide, and trying to say, 'No, seriously,
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DOWNTOWN ATHENS
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You have enjoyed our food for years...
Now know us as an Athens original...
Sunday, February
Come watch the
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Enjoy one of your favorite stir-fry or
noodle dishes or take advantage of
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