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Paging Michael Govan: Please respond to Save Film at LACMA

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They’ve written e-mails. They’ve organized a petition. They even got the attention of director Martin Scorsese, who has sent a letter to LACMA protesting the decision to shutter the museum’s weekend film program.

But so far, LACMA has been mostly silent.

The founders of Save Film at LACMA, which is spearheading the campaign to restore the film program, said that the museum has yet to respond to Scorsese’s open letter.

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‘We wonder about the meaning of LACMA’s silence,’ the group said in a statement issued today. ‘Given the outpouring of dismay over the cancellation, LACMA owes it to our community to engage in open, honest, civic dialogue. ‘

Save FIlm at LACMA said that the museum has corresponded with them, but that ‘so far we’ve seen form letters and boilerplates filled with double-speak... Damage control is not enough. We demand to know what the museum’s intentions are for the film program.’

Michael Govan, LACMA’s director, has agreed to sit down with the group at a Sept. 1 summit, during which they will discuss possible ways to reverse the museum’s decision.

The museum has stated that Govan is currently on vacation and hasn’t had an opportunity to formally respond to Scorsese.

On Wednesday, The Times published Scorsese’s letter in which the Oscar-winning director described LACMA’s actions as ‘a serious rebuke to film within the context of the art world.’

-- David Ng

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Photo: James Mason and Judy Garland in ‘A Star is Born,’ which recently screened at LACMA. Credit: Warner Bros.

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