Method Fest Going Dark for 2011

Facing difficulties in attracting corporate sponsors, the organizers of the Method Fest film festival are taking a break this year to regroup and work on ways to grow the festival. When the festival returns in 2012, it is hoped there will be a better climate for businesses to spend again on sponsoring the week-long collection of screenings, parties, and other events. Method Fest may also relocate from Calabasas, where it has been for the past six years. Executive Director Don Franken is in talks with two other cities as host. It was not an easy decision for Franken to make to decide not to have the festival, which traditionally takes place at the end of March. The festival has grown each year in the number of films shown (108 in 2010) and attracts projects with top Hollywood names and those performers on the cusp of stardom. In 2008, for instance, Method Fest gave an award to Melissa Leo, winner of an Academy Award this year. Once the economy began to tank in late 2008, Method Fest began to struggle. Sponsorships dried up in 2009 and then again in 2010. In the best years, the festival brought in $150,000 in corporate monies. The most the City of Calabasas had given was $75,000. That amount shrunk to $35,000 in 2010 and Franken didn’t even approach the city for money for this year. At a Calabasas City Council meeting last March, there was a discussion about Method Fest organizers complying with conditions attached to receiving money from the city. There was no action taken by the council, according to minutes of the March 10 meeting. The city isn’t cutting support for the arts and instead are putting the dollars elsewhere, said Michael Hafken, the city’s public information officer. As the film festival grew, so did the expectations for the number of films, the celebrities attending post-screening parties, the red carpet arrivals, and awards presentations. A music portion was also added to the festival, featuring performers and bands whose music appeared in the films. “Everything becomes important in terms of presentation,” Franken said. “It takes hard cash to do a lot of that.” Method Fest is hardly alone in facing a lack of money. Film festivals in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Las Vegas have been canceled in recent years. GenArt, a festival in New York City, returns this summer after having been canceled in 2010. With next year’s festival, Franken hopes for a renewed energy and taking another step in keeping Method Fest as a regional entertainment industry event. While staying in Calabasas remains a possibility, the host city does need to be a place that gives the most support and allows the festival to grow, Franken said. “The films need the coverage and also the actors to launch the films in the marketplace and launch their careers,” Franken said.