[2] In 1983, co-founder Essert was forced to resign due to the festival's budget problems and disagreements with the board of trustees over policy.
[3] In 1985, Jerry Weintraub became chairman and chief executive of the board promising to make Filmex the world's number 1 film festival.
[1] Later in 1985, Weintraub became chairman and chief executive officer at United Artists and in 1986, Weintraub decided that responsibility for Filmex had to be shared and that it needed to merge with either the American Film Institute or American Cinematheque, the latter having been formed by Essert in 1984 after he left Filmex.
The board voted to merge with American Cinematheque and all Filmex staff were laid off except Wlaschin.
[4] The Filmex Society, whose benefits included allowing members to attend advanced studio screeings, continued, with privileges extended to the AFI Fest.