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WOUB’s Our Ohio high school documentary project films will be featured at 2025 Athens International Film and Video Festival
< < Back toATHENS, OH – Films created during the WOUB 2023-24 Our Ohio high school documentary film project will be shown during the upcoming Athens International Film and Video Festival (AIFVF). The films will be shown at The Athena Cinema on Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m.
“AIFVF is always honored to partner with WOUB to present the work of young filmmakers from our region alongside our program of films from all over the world,” said Athens International Film and Video Festival Director David Colagiovanni.
The Our Ohio project challenges students to learn about and explore independent documentary film, Appalachian cultural identity, media literacy and multimedia storytelling. Throughout the course of the school year, the students worked with WOUB News Reporter Theo Peck-Suzuki and Documentary Filmmaker Chris Flanery, as well as Ohio University Associate Professor Brian Plow, to learn how to create documentary films. The project gives young people the resources necessary to tell their own story and challenges them to think more deeply about what they want to say and the most effective way to say it.
“We’ve created a team of professionals from the university and WOUB who work in person and remotely with the schools and their teachers,” said WOUB Educational Services Manager Deborah Brewer. “I get so excited each year to see the topics the students will cover and how they will tell the story. I continue to be impressed by the support our region gives to the project and our students. ”
“Storytelling literacy is so important,” said Plow. “I believe that storytelling is the most powerful force on the planet. When someone understands how a story is put together, it becomes empowering for that person. They will know when they consume media what’s authentic and what might be manufactured. They can also turn around and tell their own story and the story of their community in an authentic way. I feel like this is helping to empower people in communities that are sometimes left behind in the state of Ohio.”
In the fourth year of the project (2023-2024), students from Alexander, Southern Meigs and Nelsonville York High Schools participated in the project and submitted 26 films for adjudication.
About the AIFVF
From April 7–13, 2025, The Athens International Film + Video Festival (AIFVF) will present its 52nd edition, showcasing over 200 films from more than 58 countries at the historic Athena Cinema in uptown Athens, OH. The festival will feature 20 feature-length films alongside a vast selection of short films, all competing for top honors. Winners, chosen by an independent jury, will receive cash prizes and awards, with select categories offering Academy Award-qualifying status. This year’s festival promises a stellar collection of special events, film screenings, and lively after-parties.