L.A.F.C.O. was the Los Angeles Film Co-op, also known as Los Angeles Film Makers Cooperative, Los Angeles Filmmakers’ Co-operative, or other such variations, that existed for some amount of time in the early 1970s. The precise name and time span (and a lot of other info!) is yet to be confirmed. NOT to be confused with the identically named/acronymed organization founded in 2001 by Tao Ruspoli.
L.A.F.C.O. was a distributor of 16mm experimental films with some emphasis on work by Los Angeles filmmakers, although not exclusively representing LA artists. I as yet have very little info to share here about L.A.F.C.O., but will update as I learn more. It seems to have existed roughly around 1970-74 at least, maybe a bit longer, and possibly co-founded by William H. Moritz, although Chick Strand also seems to have perhaps had some involvement, as a few extant references I’ve found in some historical documents list the Co-op’s address as 1834 Canyon Dr., LA 90028, which was Chick Strand and her husband Martin Muller’s home address at that time. Other, earlier references list 8925 Wonderland Park Avenue, LA, 90046 as the address, which was Elfriede Fischinger’s address at the time, and at which Moritz also either lived or at the very least was contactable.
After some years of finding very little information about L.A.F.C.O., I turned up a rental catalog for Winter, 1971, which comprises a set of six stapled-together mimeographed pages. The organization describes itself as follows in this document:
“THE LOS ANGELES FILMMAKERS’ COOPERATIVE is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of filmmaking as an art form and medium of communication. Like the New York Filmmaker’s Cooperative and Canyon Cinema Cooperative, on whom we are modeled, LAFCO accepts for distribution any film in 16mm, 8mm, or Super 8mm with sound-tracks on tape or any other practical medium; films are deposited by the filmmaker himself, and LAFCO makes no judgment as to the worthiness of any given film. LAFCO is a convenience for the support of film artists, and all film artists are invited to submit their work to us for distribution. Filmmakers are paid 2/3 of each rental fee, and the LAFCO retains 1/3 to help defray operating costs including catalogues and mailing.”
The Winter 1971 catalog then lists the following films (presented here as they are listed in the catalog) as being available for rental through L.A.F.C.O.:
AGUSTSSON, Agust (Los Angeles)
“EVERYTHING WILL BE PLASTIC…”
BELSON, Jordan (San Francisco)
ALLURES
BOROWCZYK, Walerian (Poland-France)
GAMES OF ANGELS
BUNUEL, Luis (and Salvador Dali)
CHIEN ANDALOU
CANTRILL, Arthur and Corinne (England-Australia)
BOUDDI
EIKON
4000 FRAMES = AN EYE OPENER FILM
MOVING STATICS
ENGEL, Jules (Los Angeles)
CENTIPEDE
FISCHINGER, Oskar (Germany, Los Angeles)
LIEBESSPIEL
STUDY #5
STUDY #6
STUDY #7
STUDY #8
STUDY #9
STUDY #10
STUDY #11
STUDY #12
COLORATURA
CIRCLES
MURATTI CIGARETTE COMMERCIAL
COMPOSITION IN BLUE
ALLEGRETTO
OPTICAL POEM
AMERICAN MARCH
RADIO DYNAMICS
MOTION PAINTING #1
MUNTZ TV and OKLAHOMA GAS commercials
LUMIGRAPH #1
GERSHFIELD, Burton (Los Angeles)
NOW THAT THE BUFFALO’S GONE
GIORGIO, Robert
THAT’S NICE
GRUENBERGER, John (Los Angeles)
A C T
AEROPLANE
BURDEN OF SONG
COUNTENANCE
ONSET: VARIATION #1
ONSET: VARIATION #2
SUBLIMINAL GRAPHICS
“also available by GRUENBERGER: PHOTOMULTIPLIER, P.S.F.ONE, POPULACE, FREE FOR ALL, etc.”
HARRINGTON, Curtis (Los Angeles)
THE ASSIGNATION
ON THE EDGE
WORMWOOD STAR
HIRSH, Hy (San Francisco, L.A., Paris, Amsterdam)
ENERI
HUBBARD, R.W. (Los Angeles)
EN VIE
MAGGIE’S FARM
GIRL IN THE FIELD
JOHNSON, Karen (Los Angeles)
ORANGE
LIZARD MOSAIC
KURI, Yoji (Tokyo)
AI! (Love!)
LEBRUN, David (Los Angeles)
SANCTUS
LEGRICE, Malcolm (London)
CASTLE ONE
BLIND-WHITE-DURATION
TALLA
LESTER, Howard (Los Angeles)
AIRPLANE GLUE, I LOVE YOU
LINDER, Carl (New York, Los Angeles)
the devil is dead
LOURIE, David (Los Angeles)
MOTION ANALYSIS/MOOD EVOLUTION
PROJECT ONE
MCLAUGHLIN, Dan (Los Angeles)
CLAUDE
GOD IS DOG SPELLED BACKWARDS
NINE O’CLOCK NEWS
EPIPHANIES
STAR SPANGLED BANNER ONE
MICROSECOND
PEACE
MORITZ, William (Los Angeles)
GERTRUDE STEIN FILM
NELSON, Robert (San Francisco)
OH DEM WATERMELONS
BLEU SHUT
OBERN, Vaughn (Los Angeles)
HEY MAMA
AN AESTHETIC QUALITY
SNATCHES
PURPLE HEART
“other Obern films also available.”
O’KONOR, Louise (Sweden)
REINDEER
O’NEILL, Pat (Los Angeles)
BY THE SEA
BUMP CITY
COMING DOWN
7362
RUNS GOOD
POLANSKI, Roman (Los Angeles)
TWO MEN AND A WARDROBE
REICHLINE, Neil (Los Angeles)
EPIPHANY
“other Reichline films also available.”
REIDEL, Judith (Los Angeles)
EF (“also known as ‘Q’ and ‘SOLILOQUY'”)
STORCK, Henri (Belgium)
THE STORY OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
STRAND, Chick (Los Angeles)
ANGEL BLUE SWEET WINGS
ANSELMO
KULU SE MAMA
WATERFALL
MOSORI MONIKA
TOKUNOW, Alvin (Los Angeles)
TOMO
CHICAGO
WELLINGTON, Fred (Los Angeles)
THE THREE SAGES OF BALLY BUNION
ANDY WARHOL – A DOCUMENTARY
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, DADDY?
JUDY LEHTIMEN NEW YORK CITY – 1967
BLOWING
WHITNEY, Michael (Los Angeles)
BINARY BIT PATTERNS
WHITNEY, John Sr. and Michael (Los Angeles)
CRIA
MCLEAN, John (Dallas, Texas)
THE END OF THE WAR IN VIET NAM
STEHURA, John (Los Angeles)
CIBERNETIK 5.3
ALSO AVAILABLE:
Various 8mm and Super 8mm films.
Some older films to be used for filler and delight:
THE HASHER’S DELIRIUM (Emile Cohl)
SMOKE YOUR TROUBLES AWAY (Hans Fischerkoesen)
KI-PHO (Guido Seeber)
**
I’m not sure how extensive the distribution library was beyond this Winter 1971 catalog, but some additional films that were definitely distributed by L.A.F.C.O., based on extant original can labeling I’ve encountered, include:
Marguerite (1971) by Betty Chen
Ethero (1968) by Fu-Ding Cheng
Belladonna (1970-71?) by John Gruenberger
Hands (1971) by Karen Johnson
The Divine Miracle (1973) by Daina Krumins
This list will also be updated as more information is discovered. Apologies for it being so incomplete and speculative, but I thought it was worth putting something up rather than nothing, especially if anyone stumbles upon this and has additional info to share! Please get in touch if you can illuminate anything further about L.A.F.C.O.!
LIGHTSTRUCK 