IFP/Los Angeleshas broken off from the IFP umbrella group and has relaunched as FilmIndependent [FIND], in a move that executive director Dawn Hudson said wouldallow the group to better serve its booming Southern California membership.

FIND willcontinue to produce both the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles FilmFestival, and work with the independent filmmaking community on advocacy issuesand promoting diversity in the industry.

While Hudsonstressed that the newly named group would continue to collaborate with the IFPchapters in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Seattle on various projects, sheadded that the relaunch would allow the group to focus more clearly on thedemands of its 6,300-strong membership.

To this end FINDis preparing a new website resource for independent filmmakers, whose variousmembership benefits will remain as they were under IFP/Los Angeles.

All staff willalso remain in place. Richard Raddon will continue as festival director of theLos Angeles Film Festival, Diana Zahn-Storey will continue as event producerfor both the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Independent Sprit Awards, RachelRosen will continue as the organisation's director of programming, and DougJones will continue as senior programmer.

"Our mission isthe same as it always was, but we felt it was necessary to respond quickly andeffectively to this new world order in independent filmmaking and themembership growth in Southern California," Hudson told screendaily.

She added: "Splitting off isan imprecise way of looking at this as each of the IFP chapters has alwaysoperated autonomously and has its own staff and board of directors - we shareda name and collaborated on various initiatives."

IFP/Los Angeleslaunched in 1980 when a small group of writers, directors, and producers gottogether to share ideas on the independent filmmaking process. Hudson joined asleader in 1991.