Los Angeles Film Festival Director Resigns Over Prop. 8

Film Independent announced Tuesday that it had accepted Richard Raddon's resignation as director of the Los Angeles Film Festival, a title he has held since 2000. On November 14, blogger David Poland reported on his Hot Blog, hosted by Movie City News, that Raddon had personally donated $1,500 to the Yes on 8 campaign, in support of the ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage in California, which sparked some controversy.

According to Poland, Raddon actually submitted his resignation that day, but Film Independent's board chose not to accept it. Instead, board members met as a group to decide what to do next.

Raddon issued the following statement today:

“I feel honored to have worked with such a wonderful group of people at the Los Angeles Film Festival over the last nine years. I am proud of our accomplishments. And I am proud to have worked at Film Independent, an organization whose principles and values of diversity and artistic integrity I cherish. I have always held the belief that all people, no matter race, religion, or sexual orientation, are entitled to equal rights. As many know, I consider myself a devout and faithful Mormon. I prefer to keep the details around my contribution through my church a private matter. But I am profoundly sorry for the negative attention that my actions have drawn to Film Independent and for the hurt and pain that is being experienced in the GLBT community.”

The board of Film Independent countered with a statement of its own.

“With great reluctance, Film Independent has accepted Richard Raddon's resignation as Director of the Los Angeles Film Festival. Rich’s service to the independent film community and to Film Independent has been nothing less than extraordinary. He has always shown complete commitment to our core principles of equality and diversity during his long tenure. It was through his leadership that the Los Angeles Film Festival has grown into a formidable and exciting showcase for talented artists and diverse voices. We are sorry to see him go.”

The Los Angeles Film Festival is one of the many divisions of Film Independent, a nonprofit film organization that also hosts the Independent Spirit Awards

Raddon has always been open about being a devoted member of the Mormon Church and is the producer of a number of independent films, including the Lili Taylor-Guy Pearce movie A Slipping-Down Life. (The Advocate)

Keywords: Prop 8

Related stories from Advocate.com

2009-07-02: The Faces of Federal Prop. 8
2009-06-20: The Great Undoing?
2009-06-03: The Upside of Prop. 8
2009-05-29: Pastors: No Marriage for Straight People
2009-05-28: Aftermath: Day of Decision

Reader Comments

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Name: Jeffrey
Date posted: 2008-11-28 3:47 AM
Hometown: Mount Vernon

Comment:

I find the most interesting part of his (Raddon's) statement "my contribution THROUGH my church". If the Church co-ordinated them in any way, the church should then be defined as a political organization and needs to be taxed as such. From his words, I believe that the contribution was just given to prove to his ward that he is a good mormon. If he refused the orders of his ward to contribute, his faith and perhaps even his sexuality would have been called into question. This is the nature of Mormonism. My husband is an ex-Mormon and he was pressured and ultimately coerced by the Church to marry a woman and have children or he would burn in hell forever. After several years of marriage, and 2 kids, he AND his wife decided that they had made a mistake and they parted. The church excommunicated my husband and he says it was the most liberating moment of his life.

Name: Laurent
Date posted: 2008-11-26 8:09 PM
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada

Comment:

Hans you claim to believe that you have the right to go after the individual, well then I am glad that i DON'T live anywhere near you geopolitically or otherwise. You are displaying the same hateful face that the Mormon church or Focus on the Family have displayed. Your attitude is not unlike a skinhead or the Third Reich, the individual has the right to their personal or moral belief, the Constitution guarantees the right to vote your conscience even if his conciens disagrees with your world view. Did you donate to the No side or is your political contribution flaying someone for exercising their constitutional rights. Not even every Gay agreed with the no side. Going after an organiztion is fair but targeting the individuaql is a bigotted act, and makes you no better than those that would deny us our rights.

Name: Anna
Date posted: 2008-11-26 5:54 PM
Hometown: Kentucky

Comment:

It's sad that there are people out there that are pleased that someone has lost their job. You can throw the term "bigot" around in as many posts as you wish but that doesn't change the fact that he was free to make his own decision based on what "he" felt was right. As for all the comments about Mormons and African-Americans...I'm African American...and you can say the same things about "bigotry" regarding Christianity and Catholicism. I think the preoccupation with gay marriage has blinded us in some ways. And honestly, I can care less if we ever get the right to marry. I'm still going to be me and I'm still going to be happy. Christian..."It’s one thing to go to church in private and do your weekly tiding; however, to actually go out of your way to write a check personally in addition- that is just plan mean spirited and mean." You've got to be kidding me - if that's not a hypocritical comment nothing is. Keep your religion at home, behind closed doors?

Name: Hans
Date posted: 2008-11-26 4:42 PM
Hometown: Kent, WA

Comment:

It’s not that the minority group is not allowing him to have and act on his opinion; they are reacting to him doing just that. You are telling the GLBT community that they are to just take everything that happens to them. Well, that’s not how an injustice it brought to justice. The GLBT community has every right to come together and give their opinion on that same person and respond to that person. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (Newtons Third Law) This is exactly the reason some of you are putting comments to this article, because you are reacting to the reaction of “people”. And those “people” are reacting to the action of an “individual” that have benefitted greatly by those “people.” By telling those “people” that they are not allowed to react, you are taking their freedom of speech and assembly away from them. I welcome your response; for I will react with a response of my own.

Name: Laurent
Date posted: 2008-11-26 3:48 PM
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada

Comment:

I am surprised that he loses his job because the LGBT community is upset because he only did what was constitutionaly his right to do. You may not like his decisions but they are his. Two weeks before Nov. 4th, I saw reports that the No side was going to lose because of Gay apathy. The main point being that Gay people and their supporters wouldn't be voting which proved to be true. So who is more to blame, the person who contributed to Yes side, or the Gay person and his associates who couldn't be bothered going to the polls to vote down PROP 8. I have no problems with boycotting a business that sided aqainst Gay people, but to take it down to the individual level makes you no better than the churches and groups that preach hate. I am really ashamed of my brothers and sisters in California, because you are demonstrating that which we condemn in others.

Name: Jack
Date posted: 2008-11-26 9:27 AM
Hometown: Seattle

Comment:

James in Tampa wrote: "...should we boycott should we not... should i go to that state on vacation or not... the answer is if you know the place supported 8 and you knowingly support them you get what you deserve" While this may resonate emotionally, let's think about what James and other pro-boycott folks are saying here. As James put it, "If a place supported 8, we should boycott that place." By that logic, if we should boycott Utah, we should also boycott California. California as a state "knowingly supported" proposition 8. So, hey, let's all boycott California!!!! Boycott the state, boycott all of the businesses there! Boycott all of the film festivals in California, and all films from Hollywood! (Sheesh!) Boycotts make sense if they're case specific, not silly emotional knee-jerk reactions.

Name: Al
Date posted: 2008-11-26 8:49 AM
Hometown: NY

Comment:

It seems to me that this man and those who worked with him have displayed the principles of tolerance at work. Contrary to what so many preach, tolerance does not mean acceptance or approval. Tolerance is: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own b: the act of allowing something (Merriam-Webster) OR Tolerance is harmony in difference. (UNESCO) The fact that he had a difference of belief and opinion from his coworkers, and that all recognized it and still managed to accomplish their jobs in a way that no one felt threatened or ostracized means that people were respecting each others differences, finding common ground, and moving forward.

Name: Timothy
Date posted: 2008-11-26 2:44 AM
Hometown: Dana Point

Comment:

Anyone reading this who thinks that homosexuals have special civil rights based on a private sexual relation with someone of their own sex....you are delusional. It is obvious to a reasonable person, the the homosexual cult has showed its true colors of hate, intolerance, bigotry and shame with the protests and acts of violence and terrorism on fellow U.S. citizens who are excercising their "inalienable rights" to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to vote their conscience. What's next? Bisexuals demanding their civil rights to marry the man and woman they love? Wake up. Where is the train going to stop?

Name: Ray P
Date posted: 2008-11-25 7:59 PM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:

Ana, was it an "opinion" when the majority of Americans believed interracial marriage was wrong? Was it an "opinion" when most believed women/minorities should not have the right to vote? Was it an "opinion" when non-whites were not allowed to own property in LA? Witchhunt? I wonder how strong your language has been to the people spewing hate, discrimination and outright lies. Is what happened to your friends on the street ugly? Absolutely, and like every group of people, there are hateful bigots in the GLBT community, too. That's the point, Ana, GLBTs are the same as everyone else, good & bad, and both are entitled to equal rights. There are scary white people right now saying horrifying things about Obama - do you see people assigning the crazy ugliness of a few to the entire white community? No, yet you start your post with a comment where you clearly have taken the actions of a few and assigned them to the entire GLBT community. Talk about being a hypocrite!

Name: Ana
Date posted: 2008-11-25 6:17 PM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:

I am so upset with the GLBT community right now. Yes, GLBT should be entitled to all the same rights as all others in our society are entitled to and I proudly voted NO on 8. I'm upset that the GLBT community is being hypocritical with not respecting people who's opinion defers from yours. A witchhunt against an individual who PRIVATELY exercised his right to support his beliefs which are different than your own - doesn't this sound alot like what Prop 8 is doing to the GLBT community. I'm upset with the GLBT for making assumptions that all African-American people voted Yes on 8. Some of my closest and dearest friends are African-American AND Gay. Recently they were victims of racist remarks while walking thru WeHo. Being a straight woman, I am a proud suppporter of GLBT. But a few sour GLBT apples who take on witchhunts and make racist slurs can ruin the perception of what the GLBT community is really about.

Name: james
Date posted: 2008-11-25 4:36 PM
Hometown: tampa

Comment:

someone on a previous post told my i was ignorant because i said gays were more interested in independent film festivals and other "fluff" rather than basic civil rights. i stated that if we were as concerned about our rights as we are new dance mixes, designer drugs, working out, fancy cars etc then we would have one this battle years ago. it cracks me up that we would even question boycotting the sundance festival in utah. that should be a no brainer. boycotting any business or individual that donated to 8 should be a no brainer. but what are talking about. "should we boycott should we not... should i eat there or not , should i shop there or not, should i go to that state on vacation or not... the answer is if you know the place supported 8 and you knowingly support them you get what you deserve.

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