One of the film-centric shoes left to drop in the current economic climate is the fate of regional festivals, whose existence depends in large part on the support of donors and almighty sponsors. I've learned from "Wade on Birmingham" by way of a twitter feed that the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival has dismissed its director. The near and dear to my heart Tallahassee Film Festival (in the same region) is in only its second year, and I fear for it and other "little festivals" having to potentially turn into weekend-long corporate ads rather than start (or continue to) promote their own unique identity...or cease to exist entirely.

When the times get lean, that's when non-profit enterprises are in the most danger of crumbling under the weight of pressure from all sides. Everyone deemed a "partner," from board members to local universities to sponsors and local government entities all start to transform into adversaries more than they may have already been to begin with. Naive or misguided people in leadership positions take the line-item approach to budgeting and look at "where all the money is going" and cut the big numbers wherever they see them, with no regard to how that may undermine things. You get what you pay for when it comes to the captain guiding the ship. You skimp and go with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you run the ship aground faster than you ever thought possible.