The Film-Makers' Cooperative

"The coolest film organization in the world." —John Waters

The Film-Makers' Cooperative is one of the oldest and largest distributors of independent and avant-garde films in the world. Established in NYC in 1961, we currently distribute over 6,000 titles by over 2,500 artists.

The FMC is the first artist-run organization devoted to the dissemination of moving image art. Artists and estates maintain creative control of their works as we are a non-exclusive and membership-based nonprofit. Intrinsic to our policy of non-exclusivity and freedom of expression is our mission to provide visibility for works of art from all cultural, gender, and ethnic backgrounds.

The FMC was the first distributor of the films of John Waters, Andy Warhol, and Kenneth Anger (among others). Our extensive archive spans the history of film and features landmark works by major avant-garde artists like Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Jack Smith, and Shirley Clarke.