Two weekends ago, non-profit repertory theater The Cinefamily was rocked by a scandalous anonymous email claiming that two board members, co-founder and executive director Hadrian Belove and vice president Shadie Elnashai, were either sexually harassing, attacking or raping female volunteers working for The Cinefamily. The letter also asserted that the board was turning a blind eye to any complaints made by the volunteers AND that the victims were being shamed or bullied into silence. On top of all that, they cited a lawsuit filed against The Cinefamily claiming sexual misconduct which resulted in a settlement, but did not result in a management restructuring.

Last week, Belove and Elnashai both submitted their resignation/were fired and a police hotline was set up for any potential victims to get in touch with a third party mediator. I dunno what happened between last week and this week, but The Cinefamily has ceased operations for the time being. According to their calendar, the 10-year old organization held one last “Private Event” on Thursday, and then ceased operations to restructure management and figure out next steps.

Many people have suggested various steps to restore faith in the operation, including retaining more women as part of either the management or board and paying their volunteers a decent wage instead of relying on free labor that will inevitably result in “favors” and power imbalance. I do hope a revitalized version of The Cinefamily returns without all the behind the scenes sexual misconduct, because repertory theaters hold a purpose. However, the safety of workers and volunteers holds a higher purpose and they need to come first.