Facets Multi-Media

Facets Multimedia is changing the face of independent film exhibition and distribution, one movie at a time. Founded in 1975, the Chicago-based organization prides itself on remaining one of the nation’s largest go-to distributors for hard-to-find niche films. According to the company’s marketing director, Ed Husayko, Facets was founded in order “to give people a chance to see films they had read about in film books or seen at a university film society. We were defined at the time [as a] ‘revival house.’”

Currently the company houses over 60,000 titles available for sale, and many for rental with their rent-by-mail membership program. In addition to these efforts, Facets’ recent venture into DVD production has produced nearly 15 new movies each month on the Facets DVD label. For Windy City natives, Facets’ Cinémathèque division manages daily screenings, festivals and “CineChats” with top directors at its two Chicago theaters. “We give the people of Chicago an alternative to what is commercially shown and the more commercial side of ‘independent cinema’,” says Husayko. “We still believe that there are movies produced for a certain niche audience and we are still committed to allowing this great, sometimes challenging, cinema to be shown.”

Visit www.facets.org for more information on what Facets has to offer you!

Sound Off: Facets Multimedia is truly a champion of indie cinema. As the independent film world becomes increasingly commercialized, do you think that companies like Facets will become obsolete? Or will there always be an audience for the avant-garde? Talk back in the comments section!