Bartlett, Freude

Biographical Information

Freude Bartlett founded Serious Business Company in 1972 to distribute independent and experimental films. Born out of her initial forays in distributing her then husband, Scott Bartlett's experimental films in the late 1960s, Serious Business, "...began...at a time when I was heavily involved in the women's movement both in terms of ideological commitment and community work. It was a high energy period personally, which was reinforced by the support and energy of the movement. I had left my husband, I had a young child, and I had just started this business."1

Freude, who went only by her first name and known for her infamous shock of frizzy red hair, also became a major force in nurturing and distributing feminist films of the 1970s. "At the time, no major commercial distributor specialized in avant-garde films or women's film...[and over the decade]...[t]he collection grew considerably - from an initial catalog of 40 films to over 250 titles...[the] range of subject matter broadened to include anthropology and social documentary, films for children, alternative healthcare films and a very large animation collection."2 Freude took great pride in owning and operating an all-women run business. She was also a filmmaker in her own right.

Her roster featured an extensive array of important filmmakers, e.g.: James Broughton, Bruce Conner, Shirley Clarke, Gunvor Nelson, David Pies, Chick Strand, Pat O'Neill, Sally Cruikshank and Anne Severson among many others.

Being one of only a tiny handful of distributors specializing in independent and experimental films, Freude developed extensive networks and important relationships with many film organizations across the nation, most notably with Karen Cooper, director of Film Forum in New York.

By the early 1980s as funding sources for the arts dried up and lab costs steadily increased, distribution costs began to rise dramatically. Serious Business, in order to stay solvent, was often forced to pay shippers and labs first before filmmakers. This unfortunate situation was greeted with a mix of understanding and outrage from the many filmmakers that Freude distributed. Having tried her best to stave off such a financially untenable situation, Freude was forced to dissolve the business in 1983 under a cloud of bankruptcy. The end of Serious Business was seen a devastating blow by filmmakers, fellow distributors and film organizations. The golden age of independent and experimental film distribution was, essentially, finished.

In 1986, Freude earned a Masters degree in Information Sciences at UC Berkeley and went on to found the communications firm Metropolis Media, whose clients included PC World, Intel, and non-profits whose goals she supported. She died of liver failure at her home in Oakland, California in January 2009.

1 From an interview conducted by John Hess and Chuck Kleinhans on July 6, 1982.

2 Ibid.

From the guide to the Serious Business Company records, 1965-1983, bulk 1972-1983, (The Bancroft Library)