In a statement issued Monday evening, the Denver Film Society announced the appointment of Britta Erickson as interim executive director. She replaces Burleigh “Bo” Smith, who was dismissed from the position this week after just eight months on the job.
A search for a permanent executive director is underway for the 32-year-old organization that runs the Starz Denver Film Festival in the fall and year-round programs and events at the Starz FilmCenter on the Auraria campus.
In the statement, Erickson acknowledged there were strains between Smith and the DFS staff, a division that lead to the resignation of 21 employees, among them director of programming Brit Withey and programming manager Keith Garcia.
“While it has been a dramatic and emotional few months for the Denver Film Society, the board of directors is working toward finding a permanent executive director that will provide stable leadership of our organization,” said Erickson.
Beyond Erickson and senior consultant and film society co-founder Ron Henderson (both of whom had resigned), the film society has yet to release the names of returning staff.
Facing a deficit between $125,000 and $150,000, the film society board had announced the need for staff reductions.
“What’s most important, at this point, is for our patrons and the community to know that the programs and festivals that have served as hallmarks of our organization for more than three decades will continue uninterrupted in the coming weeks and months.”
In the midst of last week’s tumult, the Film Society announced schedules for its movie and music series, Film on the Rocks, which runs June 16 to Aug. 18, and the first annual Denver French Film Festival, June 17-28.
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com
