At last evening's Burlington Film Society screening of The Punk Singer at Main Street Landing, the society's organizers made an announcement that may have long-term ramifications for film culture in Burlington, and in Vermont as a whole. 

Effective immediately, the BFS will operate under the aegis of the Vermont International Film Foundation (VTIFF), yet will retain a degree of independence. VTIFF is the nonprofit parent organization of the Vermont film festival that plays every autumn at various venues around Burlington.

According to a press release issued this morning, BFS will benefit in the merger from access to VTIFF's promotional skills and larger budget. VTIFF, in turn, gains connections with BFS' devoted audience members, and takes a significant step toward its professed goal of presenting films year-round. 

As a sign of this new union, the BFS website can now be found nestled within that of VTIFF. 

Until this point, BFS and VTIFF had shared venues (Main Street Landing), a great many cinephile audience members, and a mission to advocate for and screen films in Vermont. As of today, the two organizations are formally united in these aims.