Join the original —Andrews. Alien3, David Fincher (1992)
Utah Filmmakers™ Association•Official Memorandum•Current Revision: 2023-02-06
When I was in the Navy, I was a Cryptologic Technician, which required a Top Secret SCI security clearance. So, I’m NOT in the habit of discussing confidential information with anyone who does not “need to know.”
Unfortunately, one person’s lack of professionalism and discretion has made it prudent to address a confidential matter, but only with a handful of our Associates and Community Members that UFA™ Leadership feels have a “need to know.”
The matter referenced is between Utah Filmmakers™ (the nonprofit organization) and two of our Community Members—Warren Workman and Dora Workman, of Workman Pro, LLC, and the founder and director, respectively, of the Utah Film Festival.
We have been trying to amicably resolve a disagreement with the Workmans since mid-December 2022 but have reached an impasse. Our Code of Ethics & Conduct guides us to acknowledge our limitations, own difficult decisions, and “know when to seek legal advice.” Since the abovementioned matter has a legal component, the organization retained a lawyer to review the specifics and inform our choices moving forward.
A letter was drafted to address specific concerns with the Workmans and outlined steps to resolve them. Among those steps was to agree—in writing—that the matter would remain confidential. Why? Because the first of our Core Values is Professionalism, and professionalism dictates that disagreements be resolved with civility and discretion. In other words, there was no need to turn an administrative matter into a public spectacle, and we will always try to err on the side of respecting the privacy of our members, especially if they choose to take actions that they may only realize, in hindsight, could be, at best, embarrassing or, at worst, professionally detrimental.
Upon receiving the aforementioned letter, Mr. Workman—contrary to a previous commitment to limit “drama” to his creative pursuits—wrote the following remarks in a publicly accessible post on a personal social media profile:
The only accurate part of that paragraph is contained entirely within the first sentence.
Beyond that, Mr. Workman told a blatant lie that incited anger and resentment within the small portion of the local film community he personally interacts with on social media. Why would Mr. Workman not only disregard a clear and pragmatic request to respect the confidentiality of the matter but also lie about it? We can only presume it was to draw attention away from the more problematic details of the concerns addressed in the letter, which he would not discuss publicly. When he and Mrs. Workman did make reference to the other concerns in replies to certain comments, their descriptions were grossly inaccurate.
The falsehood which forms the basis of Mr. Workman’s initial post has been addressed in our trademark policy, available on our website at http://tm.utahfilmmakers.org:
While the Workmans are free to say whatever they want, we would not feel obligated to acknowledge it except that the post misrepresents the content of the letter, obscures key facts of the confidential matter it references, and is blatantly hypocritical.
On January 2, 2023, "Workman Pro" registered a trademark with the Utah Department of Commerce for “The Words - ‘Filmmakers Utah’”—or, as they might phrase it:
“It is [our] stance that the words ‘Filmmakers’ and ‘Utah’ are [our] property.”
Mr. Workman deliberately chose to withhold this information because being honest about their actions would completely undermine the purpose of his post, which was to knowingly communicate information that he knew to be false and knew would be likely to expose an established organization and its founder to public hatred, contempt, and ridicule.
By distorting the specific concerns of the letter, placing emphasis on an action that they, themselves, have also taken, and then insinuating that anyone who would do such a thing would only do so with malicious intent, they were able to effectively manipulate the emotions of several of the people that read their post. This resulted in hundreds of comments, eliciting questions, rampant speculation, hasty judgments, and an overabundance of amateur legal advice. Many of the Workmans’ replies to those comments were also inaccurate and misleading. Some questions were left unanswered, leading to more speculation and assumptions.
The vitriol ignited by this disingenuous and sanctimonious post also resulted in an individual becoming the target of online harassment.
As noted in a January 16 meeting—with Mr. Workman:
Stating a fact is different from telling the truth.
Being factual is different from being honest.
Withholding pertinent information is a lie of omission.
Every third-party comment, reaction, and emotionally-driven decision rooted in the feelings triggered by Mr. Workman’s post and the one that followed it were all the result of having been lied to by Mr. Workman and compounded by Mrs. Workman.
The UFA™ Code of Ethics & Conduct states, in part,
The disagreement that we’ve been trying to resolve is related—in part—to a proposal from Utah Filmmakers™ to be recognized as official sponsors of the Utah Film Festival in exchange for an in-kind donation. At the time, Mr. Workman was still a moderator in the Utah Filmmakers™ Facebook group. His contributions in that capacity were very much appreciated, as were his efforts to engage group members. The forum also proved to be a valuable resource for the Utah Film Festival over the years. Regardless of whether or not the Workmans would consider the proposal, every effort was made to ensure that a continuing professional affiliation could be maintained with the Workmans.
Concurrent with those efforts, and—without our knowledge—certain actions were taken by Workman Pro, LLC, that were profoundly incompatible with our Code of Ethics & Conduct.
To say that the sponsorship proposal was poorly received would be to put it delicately. Therefore, it was formally withdrawn. At the time, we were still unaware of Workman Pro’s ethical infractions, so we did everything we could to show our continued support for the upcoming festival, which included making the in-kind donation referenced in the proposal—only without the recognition of sponsorship—primarily as a goodwill gesture.
It was only after that gesture was made that the ethical infractions mentioned above were brought to our attention; it became clear that they created a conflict of interest on the part of both the Workmans as UFA™ Community Members and for Mr. Workman in particular, who was also in a position of trust (as a forum moderator) and an official representative of the Utah Filmmakers™ Association (as a UFA™ Community Liaison).
We addressed the matter with Mr. Workman directly, trying our best to find an amicable solution to help him resolve the conflict of interest so we could continue to work together for the benefit of the local film community. Unfortunately, despite being offered numerous opportunities and generous accommodations, Mr. Workman refused to even acknowledge the ethical implications of his company’s actions.
The options available to Utah Filmmakers™ were limited and difficult. Regardless of those limitations, the clear breach of trust, and the disappointment that resulted from it, every effort was still made to maintain a professional affiliation with the Workmans because we never failed to recognize and appreciate their talents and positive contributions to the local film community. Despite a sincere invitation to continue participating in the Utah Filmmakers™ group as other members do, they chose to leave.
The Workmans are still considered UFA™ Community Members and, should they so choose, are welcome to return to the organization’s official forum and utilize it as other members do to develop and grow their film-related ventures.
Joseph L. Puente
Founder/Administrator
Utah Filmmakers™ Association