Culture
Athens Film Fest Returns This Week
< < Back to athens-film-fest-returns-weekThe 2014 Athens International Film & Video Festival is right around the corner, kicking off this Friday, April 11, at the Athena Cinema.
As in past years, the festival will once again host a multitude of movies–from foreign to domestic, comedy to documentary, experimental to traditional narratives–that will be of interest to everyone, regardless of age or inclinations.
This year, the festival received more than 900 competition entry films, all of which were screened and sorted over previous months by staff members.
Working with the College of Fine Arts Communications and Marketing Department to produce the film festival program guide, this year’s program guide will feature a dog on its cover, in its tradition of using animals for the film fest promotion.
The festival has also developed categories out of the diverse films submitted in order to appeal to a wide array of audiences, such as films for the LGBT community, environmental films, family issue films and more.
“It’s important to cross-fertilize,” said Festival Director Ruth Bradley. “We need to create categories for both general and unique groups.”
There’s plenty more to look forward to during this year’s film festival. Guest artists Ayoka Chenzira and HaJ (directors of HERadventure), Richard Myers (director of Deathstyles and 37-73), Matthew Burtner (composer for Deep Earth) and Beth Stephens (director of Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story) will all give special presentations of their respective media.
The festival, which runs through Thursday, April 17, will also show a variety of awarded feature films such as Ernest and Celestine (2012), In Bloom (2013), It’s All So Quiet (2013), Le Week-End (2013), Omar (2013), Particle Fever (2013), Something Necessary (2013), The Great Flood (2012), The Missing Picture (2013), Visitors (2013), and the raucous, coming-of-age German film, Wetlands (2013).
An information table will be set up outside Baker Center on Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9 from noon to 4 p.m. Program booklets can be found in local Athens businesses as well as at the Athena Cinema lobby.
The full schedule is posted online at the Athens International Film + Video Festival website at athensfilmfest.org. The Athens International Film + Video Festival can also be found on Facebook with photos and updates about the event.