Shotgun Cinema’s most recent screening, which never took place, was slated for March 12, 2020. The only way to sum up the changes that have taken place since that time is to say – without knowing if it’s even true – that they have been total. This is the case for Shotgun Cinema the organization, whose location has changed and whose work has shifted in scope, and also for the individuals involved at all levels. Of course, given enough time, everything changes totally, but we can ruminate on this circulating definition of trauma: too much, too fast, too soon.
The changes have been total, but not complete. This organization has always concerned itself with not only the what of things but also the why and how, and within those frameworks we see overlapping fundamental shifts in the needs and goals of everyone in our orbit: workers, collaborative organizations, communities at large. We’re proud to continue to work with organizations like the Sidewalk Film Festival, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, the New Orleans Film Society, and Indie Memphis – institutions that have all weathered major, continuous changes in recent years – and to do our part in distributing the wealth of cinema.
Despite the amount of time that has passed in what seems like dormancy, it’s not currently clear how to use the modest platform Shotgun Cinema has built for itself, or how to figure out how to use it. What is clear is that art, gatherings, and cinema help the community, so we will continue doing that work as we’re able.
