We’re delighted to again participate in GiveNOLA Day, New Orleans’ annual day of giving with funds stretched by the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Now in our fifth year of operation (!!!), Shotgun Cinema continues to bring New Orleans thought-provoking and beautifully crafted films with high-quality presentation, due in part to the generosity and enthusiasm of our audience. In this past year, we added more screenings to our Full Aperture program (four of which included filmmakers in attendance); we received the Science on Screen grant (administered by the Coolidge Corner Theatre with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) to host free STEM-focused screenings; we provided projection support to nine local and regional film festivals and conferences, and we danced with over 200 Talking Heads fans at our third annual screening of Stop Making Sense. All of this is to say that we’ve been supported by so many incredible donors, organizations, and audience members over the years, and we’re able to continue our work because you have engaged with us in some way.
Our organization has been growing each year, and we maintain specific priorities and philosophies that are integral to our mission. A few things that we prioritize when creating our operating budget:
- We pay for every single film that hits our screen, including short films. We strongly believe that artists should be paid for their work, and we support both filmmakers and the distributors that handle their films. We craft programs to champion emerging films and filmmakers, as well as celebrate repertory classics on the big screen.
- We pay our contract workers at or above living wage rates (as calculated by MIT). Although we’re a small organization and have not expanded our permanent staff at this point, we strive to pay people wages that support their work.
- We work with filmmakers to improve the presentation of their films: we’ve helped create exhibition copies for local filmmakers, we’ve screened 35mm dailies, and we offer ourselves as a resource for filmmakers to better understand how their work will look and sound in the cinema.
- We work with local and regional film festivals to provide projection and technical support. We are uniquely suited to support fellow nonprofit film exhibitors who face many of the same challenges and rewards we do.
We strive to continue supporting filmmakers, artists, and technicians in addition to presenting a diverse, engaging lineup of films. And although we’ve been a bit quieter than usual this year, we have some very big plans in the works that we’ll share very soon. If you’ve appreciated the work we’ve done, we hope you consider donating to us today.
When we say every dollar has an impact, we mean it:
- $10 covers supplies for running film (reels, splicing tape, and other odds and ends)
- $25 ships one DCP hard drive (both ways)
- $75 ships one 16mm print (both ways) for our Full Aperture series
- $100 contributes to hiring local designers, printers, and theatre operations staff
- $300 allows us to secure screening rights for one new independent film
- $500 provides airfare and lodging for a filmmaker to present their work
You can donate to us via our GiveNOLA Day link: https://www.givenola.org/shotgun-cinema
Yours in cinema,
Angela, Travis, and our board of directors
