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Milestone Films is a small but mighty distribution company dedicated to discovering works that have been lost to history, restoring them and reintroducing them to anyone willing to watch. It has been run out of the New Jersey home of Amy Heller and Dennis Doros for the last 25 years, but now both are preparing to retire.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things we\u2019ve come to realize is that we are not immortal,\u201d Heller said. As the company\u2019s sole workers, \u201cwe are it. It\u2019s the two of us and we want it to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
How to keep it going after they step down is something they\u2019ve been discussing for a decade, and now they\u2019ve hit on a novel solution. They\u2019re giving the company away, to Maya Cade, the noted programmer behind the Black Film Archive.<\/p>\n
Heller and Doros said that last summer they had discussed with Cade, who volunteered herself, the idea of simply handing over their company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen we met Maya, we just thought, \u2018Oh, well, we found her,\u2019\u201d Heller said. \u201cWe found the person who we really love and trust and can enthusiastically make this move.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heller and Doros started Milestone Films in 1990 in their one-bedroom New York apartment shortly after marrying. Since then, it has grown into an internationally recognized distributor that helps bring lost or little-seen films back to prominence. For the last 18 years, the company has been focused on work by and about directors who are Black, Native Americans, L.G.B.T.Q. or women \u2014 artists from segments of the population that are underrepresented in the canon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Milestone\u2019s best-known titles include the Charles Burnett masterpiece \u201cKiller of Sheep\u201d<\/a> (1978), a portrait of a working-class Black family in Los Angeles that was rereleased last month in a restored version; Kathleen Collins\u2019s \u201cLosing Ground<\/a>\u201d (1982), which the Times critic Manohla Dargis praised as a radical rom-com; and Bridgett Davis\u2019s \u201cNaked Acts\u201d<\/a> (1996), a dramedy about an actress with a dark past who struggles with committing to a nude scene in a film.<\/p>\n \u201cNaked Acts\u201d was brought to Milestone in 2022 by Cade, a former Criterion Collection employee who also works as a film programmer and consultant on Black movies for distribution. Cade started the digital archive, which adds contextual language to Black cinema history, in 2021, following nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd. Her work soon caught the attention of Doros. They began talking weekly, forming a friendship, then a working relationship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Speaking from her home in Los Angeles last month, Cade, 31 said that this moment of transition had found her in a state of peace.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you walk in your purpose, things align,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel very happy that I feel that I\u2019m walking in my purpose and that I am entrusted with the legacy of Black filmmakers and people who are committed to filmmaking as truth. It\u2019s an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The company Cade will inherit has been profitable almost consistently for the last eight years, Heller and Doros said. But its ownership transition comes amid steady changes in how movies are watched<\/a> and discussions about canons<\/a> \u2014 what should be included and who makes those choices. Milestone Films, under Cade\u2019s direction, will join a short list of Black-run distributors including Ava DuVernay<\/a>\u2019s Array Releasing and Mypheduh Films, started by Halie Gerima<\/a>, Shirikiana Aina and Selome Gerima.<\/p>\n The weight of the moment is not lost on Cade, who sees the changing of the guard at Milestone as an opportunity to make inroads with often overlooked communities and to help filmmakers reach their goals.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like Black Film Archive raised awareness of filmmakers and Milestone Films gives me the ability to not just have awareness of these filmmakers but protect, preserve, acquire, insure funds are in the hands of filmmakers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The transition will take time. There are details to iron out and materials to transfer. Heller and Doros estimate it will take roughly a year to fully hand over the company to Cade, who has been mulling over how to tap into a community-driven distribution model. Studying the success of Tyler Perry, the Hollywood impresario and studio owner whose works once thrived on the secondary market as bootlegs, might be the key, Cade said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does it mean to have aunties and people excited about home video distribution?\u201d she asked. \u201cIn modern context, the home video is the closest you can have to owning a film in a specific format. What does it mean to get Black people very excited about that? And what are some ways that Milestone can reach them?\u201d<\/p>\n Around this time in 2026, Cade will be running two companies simultaneously. She knows there will be challenges but is optimistic. In her first year at the helm of Milestone, she plans to release one or two films as she finds her footing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n She will lead with what she describes as \u201ccare work,\u201d establishing relationships with Black filmmakers and reinforcing the connections that made Milestone a success.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that this is the home of Charles Burnett, Kathleen Collins, that isn\u2019t something that you can simply rebuild,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Heller and Doros say their work at Milestone has been personal and political. \u201cWorking with Maya and seeing her carry this forward, that aligns with our belief system,\u201d Heller said.<\/p>\n They plan to stick around as long as Cade needs them. \u201cWith a little luck, we\u2019ll stay on the planet and be available when she has questions,\u201d Heller said. \u201cWe hope to be able to have that deep knowledge when she needs it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n