The Los Angeles Independent Film Oasis was founded by a group of independent filmmakers, critics, and theorists in March 1976. The mission of the non-profit organization was to provide a southern California venue for mostly experimental and avant-garde film.
The Los Angeles Independent Film Oasis operated as a member group, and in addition to showing film, offered the opportunity for new and established filmmakers to interact and exchange ideas, and to promote cinematography as a fine art. The Oasis held film screenings about twice monthly in the gallery of the Los Angeles Institute for Contemporary Art. Although most of the films were experimental or avant-garde, the members also showed some feature films and documentaries considered to be particularly important. The Oasis served as the only regular screening venue in Los Angeles at which new and unknown filmmakers could show their works. The Oasis was dissolved in 1981.
Members and founders of the Oasis included Paul Arthur, Roberta Friedman, Leslie Gehry, Lynn Gerry, Amy Halpern, Tom Lesser, Sandy Matthews, Beverly O'Neill, Pat O'Neill, Magdalena Rangel, Tim Shepard, Grahame Weinbren, Susan Rosenblum, Brent Wilcox, Diana Wilson, David Wilson and Arlene Zeichner.
The Los Angeles Independent Film Oasis showed films by Kenneth Anger, Bruce Baillie, John Baldessari, Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, Bruce Conner, John Cornell, Maya Deren, Jules Engel, Morgan Fisher, Oskar Fischinger, Hollis Frampton, Robert Huot, Larry Jordan, Fernand Leger, William Moritz, Susan Pitt, Hans Richter, Michael Snow, Chick Strand, John Whitney, and Emerson Woelffer, among others.