Nobody is rushing to call it an official response or anything, but at least something resembling signs of life emerged from IFC Center this week in its ongoing drama with the IATSE Local 306 Projectionists Union.

A Brooklyn projectionist named Aaron Katz wrote to the Village Voice about his position at the Center, basically brushing off any supposition that anyone is being exploited, misled or underequipped in the theaters' projection booths. "It's not like IFC went and hired random people off the street and paid them pennies on the dollar," Katz wrote. "I am an experienced projectionist."

After defining his training and qualifications, Katz added:

As far as the story of the botched showing of Dont Look Back goes, I hadn't heard of it prior to reading this article. Assuming it is true, it is not indicative of lax standards. Every single union projectionist has had a terrible show at some point—likely more than one. Shit sometimes goes wrong. Overall, IFC Center standards are much higher than most places in New York City, or any place, for that matter. We actually can do reel-to-reel shows for archival prints, which is something that lots of union art house theaters can't say.

Also, we always send prints back out in the same or better shape than we got them in. The only thing we do to prints is, with the permission of the distributor, cut off the heads and tails for automation. I can't tell you how many prints we get that are in shitty shape or show up without reels or cores or are sticky or something absurd like that. We send them back out clean and correct.

I am paid well and treated with respect by IFC management. If IFC did talk to the union, there would be maybe one union guy actually hired to platter the prints and "run things." I would still get paid the same amount, and the projection standards would still be high. So, basically, I understand the anti-corporate sentiment people are expressing here, but I think that there are other corporate doings in the world that are far more deserving of their ire.

Yeah, well, "ire" might not even be the best word for it anymore. My last trip by IFC Center—on a weekend afternoon, no less—turned up exactly three people quietly handing out union leaflets to passers-by on Sixth Avenue. No inflatable rats, no John Sayles protests, no spooking Harvey Weinstein. Sigh. I miss the old days.

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