In August 1965, NYSCA Executive Director John Hightower convened an advisory group to discuss ways the Council could help disseminate distribution information and tour films to communities throughout the state. (2) The group included Ralph Hetzel, the acting head of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Margareta Akermark, from the Museum of Modern Art's Film Library; Amos Vogel, founder of Cinema 16 and Program Director of the newly-founded New York Film Festival; and producers Arthur Meyer and Dore Shary, who soon after became the first Commissioner of New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs. This resulted in the Film Project, under the direction of Peter Bradley.