One of St. Louis’ most well-known arts nonprofits has had a major staff shakeup.
Two longtime employees of Cinema St. Louis, which puts on the St. Louis International Film Festival, or SLIFF, are no longer with the organization as of January 5. Chris Clark, artistic director, and Brian Spath, operations supervisor, both confirmed their departures to the RFT but would not speak to the larger circumstances.
It’s a major loss of institutional knowledge for the nonprofit: Clark had been with Cinema St. Louis for 27 years, according to his LinkedIn profile, and Spath more than a decade.
Additionally, two independent contractors, film critics and festival programmers Joshua Ray and Kayla McCulloch, resigned around the same time.
“In late December, I left Cinema St. Louis after over five years of programming, presenting films, jurying, and helping out however I could,” Ray told the RFT via email. “It was my decision to leave, and I can't speak to anyone else's experiences. Over the past two years the organization has been undergoing significant upheaval, including leadership and venue changes. I didn't see a fit for myself there anymore, mostly with consideration to the kind of contract work I was doing with them and the work I am doing elsewhere.”
Ray is a film critic for KMOV, is part of the St. Louis Film Critics Association and co-owns the Take-Up film website. McCulloch, who is also part of the Take-Up and also contributes reviews to the RFT, declined comment on her departure.
The departures seem to have left Executive Director Bree Maniscalco and Hi-Pointe Theatre Manager Robert Severson as the sole employees. Maniscalco declined to speak to the RFT for this story.
“These are personnel matters, so we cannot comment at this time,” Maniscalco wrote in an email.
The staff changes seem to have been in the works before January 5. A source close to the matter says a couple of people in the St. Louis film scene received tentative job offers from Maniscalco in the run-up to the departures. Jess Pierce, who works for the Webster Film series and the Higher Education Channel, confirmed that Maniscalco felt her out for a part-time marketing position shortly before SLIFF in November, but she turned down the job.
In February 2022, Cinema St. Louis’ longtime executive director, Cliff Froehlich, announced his retirement after 19 years, and the board named Maniscalco to the role that June. Previously, she’d served as development director. Two sources close to the matter say that both Clark and Spath had also applied to that executive director position.
Maniscalco led the effort to purchase the iconic St. Louis movie house the Hi-Pointe, which was completed in January 2023. That month, Cinema St. Louis began using the space as its homebase and for its programming. In July, she told the RFT that she intended to increase Cinema St. Louis’ staffing.
"Like most non-profits, we wear multiple hats to get the job done," she said at the time.
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