»"Let the slaughtered take a bow ..."

A group calling itself "Audiences in Action" has asked San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to proclaim December 18th "Anita Monga Day" and identify with the Castro Theatre's recently-dismissed program director.

The Castro Theatre is a local treasure (and historic landmark). As a result of the turmoil, Eddie Muller is moving his fabulous, four-year-old Noir City festival to the Balboa Theatre.

The text of the letter follows.

Hi folks--

Here is the letter we composed to send to the mayor,
supervisors, and film commissoners. If you would like
to have your name added to the list of signatures,
please email me with your name as you would like it to
appear.

Thanks!

To Mayor Newsom, Supervisors, Film Commissioner:

As you're aware by now, Anita Monga, programmer for the past 16 years at the Castro Theatre, was dismissed
without explanation on October 26. This seemingly
small event has had an enormous impact on the Bay
Area's film community, and will continue to send
shockwaves throughout the city.

Anita Monga is a film programmer with an excellent
international reputation and far-reaching influence.
Although the Castro Theatre is privately owned and the
owners insist that her dismissal is a "business"
decision (without explaining how firing her improves
their business), their arbitrary, inexplicable act
affects much, much more than their particular
business. Over the past 28 years, the Castro Theatre
has become a cultural icon unique in the country, and
a vital part of the Bay Area arts scene, as well as a
popular tourist attraction. The Nasser
short-sighted decision puts all that in danger.

As a result of their actions, distributors and
filmmakers are pulling their films, refusing to work
with the Los Angeles-based booker whom the owners have hired to replace Monga. Under Monga, the Castro hosted world-class events, such as the re-release of Francis
Ford Coppola The Godfather trilogy, with the
original cast in attendance. Monga had enough
influence to persuade MGM to give the restored Yellow
Submarine a theatrical release, rather than sending it
straight to DVD. In addition, she has played a
significant role in helping to program archival and
other films for many of the Bay Area film festivals.
Because of Monga abrupt firing, the Castro ability
to present rare archival prints, re-released classics,
or cutting-edge documentaries, many of which are made by our own thriving Bay Area film community, is called
into question. The Castro is on the road to becoming a
theater like Oakland's Paramount, beautifully
restored, and usually empty.

San Francisco has always enjoyed a special reputation
for fostering a singular film culture that embraces
indie filmmakers as well as film aficionados and
commercial directors. To deserve that reputation, we
must act swiftly and decisively to reverse this
disastrous event. We must bring all the pressure we
can to bear on the Castro Theatre owners to undo their
mistake, and make it possible for Anita Monga to
continue her workefore some other city's arts
organization snatches her away.

To that end, we are asking you to join with our group
on December 18th as we demonstrate at the Castro
Theatre and demand that Anita Monga be rehired. We ask you to pass a resolution supporting this aim. And
shouldn't December 18th be Anita Monga day?

Please help us save a city treasure.

Sincerely,

Audiences in Action