As a tumultuous 2020 draws to a close, we can look back on all the efforts we’ve all made to pave the way for a better 2021.  It’s been a year of turmoil, fear, and doubt, but also one of re-discovery, reinvention, and hope.  Even as we temporarily closed our Facets building, the staff and board have worked tirelessly to keep our film programming alive throughout the year, including successful presentations of:

• The 37^th annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival which virtually screened 262 films from 52 countries to more than _______ students, teachers, and parents.

• The new Facets Virtual Cinematheque where new audiences have found the best new foreign and independent features and documentaries to watch online or live at the Lincoln Yards Drive-In.

• Facets renowned media education classes which have found a home online with sold out sessions for our spring animation workshops and flagship Summer Film Camps.

Reinvention has always been a Facets trademark.  Starting 45 years ago, when our founder Milos Stehlik began screening foreign films in an old church, to the creation of the nation’s largest video distribution service for foreign and independent films, to the development of media education classes which are emulated around the globe, Facets has been a model of adaptation and creativity.

When Milos passed away last year, we started the “Milos Stehlik Legacy Fund” to continue Facets important work. Your contribution to the Legacy Fund last year enabled us to move ahead, even in a pandemic, and even get a glimpse of a new Facets 2.0, still dedicated to the values that got us here: innovation, equity and justice, empathy.

We are optimistic that Facets 2.0 will emerge from these troubled times as a revitalized organization finding new ways to teach through the medium of film. But we cannot do this without your generous support.  Please give to the Milos Stehlik Legacy Fund now.