Just a few weeks after taking top honors at the Sundance Film Festival for one of its latest films, the curtain closed for good on Vulcan Productions. The storytelling venture started 23 years ago by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen shut down at the end of February.
It’s a move that Vulcan Inc., the holding company which manages various interests and elements of Allen’s estate, first announced last May, in stating that Vulcan Productions and Vulcan Arts & Entertainment would both be shuttered by the end of 2020.
Popular cultural institutions such as Seattle’s Cinerama movie theater and Living Computers: Museum + Labs have also been caught up in the process, closed indefinitely as Vulcan said the economic impacts of COVID-19 required the organization to “to assess its size and structure to maximize effectiveness and impact, and continue to evolve as an organization” following the 2018 death of Allen.
Vulcan declined to share with GeekWire on Monday how many people lost jobs at Vulcan Productions or whether they would find roles elsewhere within the company.
“We are grateful to everyone who contributed to Vulcan Productions’ work to change the trajectory of problems facing our communities and natural world,” said Janet Greenlee, Vulcan’s director of communications.
Vulcan produced more than 80 titles over the years, including feature and documentary films, television series, augmented reality projects, and more. Ruth Johnston, who served as general manager of Vulcan Productions, previously told Variety that it was an honor to tell stories and to gain inspiration from world-renowned scientists, elected officials and regular people doing amazing things.
“We’ve been nominated for Academy Awards, won Emmys, screened content for world leaders and activated millions of viewers who were inspired to make the world a better place,” Johnston said.
The most recent honors came at Sundance, Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, where “Summer of Soul,” a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, won both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. The film was directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. The film “Hunger Ward,” a look at hunger’s toll on the children of war-torn Yemen, has also been getting 2021 Oscar buzz.
Vulcan and other assets that were owned by Allen began getting a second look in the wake of his death at the age of 65. At the time of his death, the estate’s net worth was estimated at more than $20 billion. Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, serves as the estate’s executor and trustee, and GeekWire has previously reported on job reductions at Vulcan.
A longtime champion of music, art, film and science fiction, Paul Allen spent large sums of his wealth in pursuit of those passions.
His legacy includes ownership of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and the launch of the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, which is now an independent 501(c)3 organization. The Allen Institute as well as the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and an extensive art collection are also among the holdings.
The Upstream Music Fest and Summit, created by Allen as a three-day showcase of diverse musical talent, lasted two years before being shut down before the event could be staged in 2019. And the Research Vessel Petrel, credited with finding numerous shipwrecks, also went into long-term moorage last year.
“Be assured that Vulcan remains committed to tackling the world’s toughest problems,” Vulcan’s Greenlee said in a statement.
David Wulzen, a producer at Vulcan Productions for six years, posted on LinkedIn over the weekend that he was feeling bittersweet as Friday marked his last day and the films mentioned above were enjoying a run of success.
“There is no denying the feelings of disappointment and devastation,” Wulzen wrote. “And yet, I also can’t imagine a better way to close such a momentous and meaningful chapter in my life. To my Vulcan Productions family: I couldn’t be any luckier than to be by your side in helping bring stories like these, and so many more, to the world.”
