The Athena Cinema partners with Universal Studios to provide Athens with one-night only free screenings of select popular films before they are released worldwide!
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Food on Film
What’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner are universal questions, and what’s on your plate reveals much about your culture and society. The Food on Film series serves up films that highlight not only the cuisines of different countries but also ways in which the food we eat tells the stories of our lives.
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Sponsored by Food Studies Theme & The Department of Biological Sciences
Spotlight on Documentary
Our Spotlight on Documentary series covers a wide array of topics, from gender & race studies to cultural arts and everything in between. Some have guest speakers and discussions, some are one-night only nationwide engagements, but all of them share the Athena’s mission statement to educate, entertain, and engage our community.
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Beat the Heat
Summer in Athens means the return of the Athena Cinema’s BEAT THE HEAT Series – a splendid showcase of children-and-family-friendly films to be held on Saturday afternoons! Get a break from the heat, enjoy the cool air conditioning, snack on delicious concessions, and revive the tradition of watching movies on the big screen. Everything from nostalgia-inducing family films to international animation, this series offers something “cool” for folks of all ages.
The purpose of this series is to give back to children’s organizations in our area and to the greater Athens community as a whole. As a result, the admission price for each film event is simply a monetary donation to a designated children’s organization.
It’s our pleasure to provide this ultra-affordable source of entertainment during the summer, in addition to giving families an incentive to visit Uptown Athens/Court St and increase foot-traffic to local businesses during the lean months between semesters. We hope you’ll come out and support our initiative – Take advantage of local shopping and dining, ample parking, and a fun summer event with your friends and family!
This series is made possible thanks to support from the following sponsors: Athens County Children Services, Southeastern Ohio Treatment Foster Care Network, Ohio University Credit Union, and Athens Area Chamber of Commerce
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Sponsored by Ohio University, Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, Athens County Children Services and Ohio University Credit Union. Additional partners include Athens County Public Libraries and Athens Community Arts, Parks & Recreation.
OU Family Weekend Movies
Bring your Mom, Dad, sister or brother to a movie at Athens’ historic theater. Established in 1915, the Athena Cinema is a great place to make memories with your family.
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Science on Screen®
Creative pairings of current, classic, cult, and documentary films with lively introductions by notable figures from the world of science, technology, and medicine.
Since 2012, the Athena Cinema has been proudly participating in Science on Screen. The series highlights unexpected connections between art and science and brings dynamic speakers to our stage. Our event pairing sci-fi favorite Soylent Green with Russ Professor of Chemical Engineering, Dr. Gerri Botte, was even featured on Science Friday! You can listen to the episode here. Our events are fun and accessible to all audiences, no studying required!
Come see what the excitement is all about at the Athena Cinema’s next Science on Screen event. You can also check out our previous pairings in our listings below or on the official Science on Screen website here.
Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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ELLE: Last Day Thursday, March 9th
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Director: Paul Verhoeven
Writer(s): Philippe Djian, David Birke
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny
Awards: 2017 GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER - Best Actress (Drama), Best Foreign Film
*This film is spoken in French with English subtitles.*
Michèle seems indestructible. Head of a leading video game company, she brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to business. Being attacked in her home by an unknown assailant changes Michèle’s life forever. When she resolutely tracks the man down, they are both drawn into a curious and thrilling game—a game that may, at any moment, spiral out of control.
“Rivetingly unpredictable, lurid, and black as pitch.” — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, A.V. Club
“Audiences arriving for a lurid slab of arthouse exploitation will be taken off-guard by the complex, compassionate, often corrosively funny examination of unconventional desires that awaits them.” — Guy Lodge, Variety
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130 MIN
Lois Weber Restoration: THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI
Director: Lois Weber
Writer(s): Germain Delavigne, Eugène Scribe, Lois Weber
Cast: Anna Pavlova, Rupert Julian, Wadsworth Harris
Introduction by Amy Heller & Dennis Doros, co-founders of Milestone Films. Amy and Dennis will discuss the restoration and amazing career of one of the earliest women filmmakers.
The Dumb Girl of Portici is a previously unseen film long overdue for recognition as one of Weber’s finest creations and a landmark in women’s cinema. The production was one of Universal’s most expensive to date and featured an enormous cast, many large-scale sets, and an ambitious story. It was the first blockbuster ever directed by a woman — and arguably the only epic shot by a woman in the 20th century. (2K DCP)
In the early 20th century, no woman had greater worldwide fame than ballet dancer and choreographer Anna Pavlova. Unlike movie actresses, whose celebrity spread with the international distribution of their films, Pavlova’s renown had to be earned theater by theater, performance by performance. Her legendary art was, by its nature, ephemeral. Still, no one traveled farther or worked harder than this slight daughter of a Russian laundress.
Acting as star, choreographer, producer, and boss of a large dance company constantly touring the globe, Pavlova was a consummate artist and a canny businesswoman. A generation marveled and cherished the memory of her scintillating brilliance on stage. The restoration of The Dumb Girl of Portici — with the dazzling new score by dance and silent film composer John Sweeney — will give today’s audiences a chance to experience the energy, the expressive face, and the grace of the great Pavlova.
About Milestone Film and Video:
“They care and they love movies.”— Martin Scorsese
“Milestone Film & Video is an art-film distributor that has released some of the most distinguished new movies (along with seldom -seen vintage movie classics) of the past decade.”
—Stephen Holden, New York Times
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115 MIN
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO: Last Day Thursday, March 9th
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Director: Raoul Peck
Writer(s): James Baldwin, Raoul Peck
In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of his manuscript.
Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.
Baldwin’s words, Jackson’s reading and Peck’s elegant and scorching composition will resonate for years to come. — Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
While Peck’s work brims over with anger and horror, it is also a work of sweeping poetry. This story still isn’t pretty, but it’s delivered in a captivating and gorgeous manner. — Alonso Duralde, TheWrap
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93 MIN
THE HANDMAIDEN: Last Day Thursday, February 23rd
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Director: Chan-wook Park
Writer(s): Seo-Kyung Chung, Chan-wook Park, Sarah Waters
Cast: Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo
Language: Korean, Japanese
*This film is spoken in Korean & Japanese with English Subtitles.*
A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.
“Go see it. If you love cinema at all, go see it.” -Tom Long, Detroit News
“Chan-wook Park’s The Handmaiden is deliciously perverse, delightfully twisty, and unapologetically erotic.” -James Berardinelli, ReelViews
“You have, I promise, never seen a movie quite like Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden.” -Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
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144 MIN
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Educate, Entertain, Engage
Southeast Ohio's Premier
Art House Theater
Est. 1915