Blue Sky Icon TikTok Icon

OU School of Film

With its rich tradition of fostering the development of young filmmakers and cultivating a deep love for the artform of cinema, Ohio University’s School of Film continues in its mission of immersing students in the study of film concepts to further educate them about the role film plays as a dynamic cultural force and an expressive means of storytelling.

While its one thing to learn about film in the classroom and in hands-on filmmaking exercises, its another thing entirely to be able to see your finished product on the actual “big screen”. That’s where we come in! The Athena is proud to coordinate with the faculty and student body of the School of Film to regularly showcase the work of students from both the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs each semester.

These screenings are often well-attended by SoF faculty, students, and their families; however, we strongly encourage the community to join us in taking part in celebrating the hard work and sheer creative joy that these nascent films convey. Chances are you’ll someday see the names of these budding young artists in the credits of your favorite feature film!

For more info about the Film program available via OHIO’s College of Fine Arts, visit their website here

 

 

 

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

The Met: Live in HD: Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

After years of anticipation, a truly unmissable event arrives to The Met as the electrifying Lise Davidsen tackles one of the ultimate roles for dramatic soprano: the Irish princess Isolde in Wagner’s transcendent meditation on love and death. Heroic tenor Michael Spyres stars opposite Davidsen as the love-drunk Tristan. The momentous occasion also marks the advent of a new, Met-debut staging by Yuval Sharon—hailed by The New York Times as “the most visionary opera director of his generation” and the first American to direct an opera at the famed Wagner festival in Bayreuth—as well as Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s first time leading Tristan und Isolde at the Met. Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova reprises her signature portrayal of Brangäne, alongside bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, who sings Kurwenal after celebrated Met appearances in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and Ring cycle. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green makes an important role debut as King Marke.

The screening will begin at 11:55 p.m.* and will conclude at approximately 5:15 p.m.

*NOTE: The start time for this performance is about an hour earlier than the normal Met Opera start times.

Admission $20 (Senior $18, Children $8)

OHIO Students Free with valid ID*

*Thanks to support from Arts for OHIO, we are able to offer a limited number of FREE student tickets available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Must have valid student I.D.

Click here to view the rest of the Met: Live in HD schedule

Special thanks to George Weckman and the following supporters:

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 312 MIN312 MIN
Open Captioning is available for this film. This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Hillel at Ohio University Presents: THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

Watch Trailer

Join us Monday, March 23rd at 7:00 p.m. for a special event screening of “biblical proportions” presented by Hillel at Ohio University!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

Special thanks to Hillel at Ohio University for helping to make this event possible

About the film

Detailing one of the greatest tales ever told, The Prince of Egypt is DreamWorks Animation’s epic adaptation of the Book of Exodus. Transporting us back through the millennia of history to the time of the pharaohs, the film tells the story of the biblical prophet Moses who, once a prince of Egypt himself, is ultimately chosen by God to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt and free them from the cruel bonds of slavery imposed upon them by the Pharaoh Seti. During this remarkable journey, Moses and his followers encounter miraculous phenomena like the “burning bush”, the Ten Plagues of Egypt, the “pillar of fire”, the parting of the Red Sea, and the bestowal of the Ten Commandments — each a thread in the timeless tapestry of religious mythology.

Click here to learn more about Hillel at Ohio University

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 99 MIN99 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Enter the Kingdom: THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

Watch Trailer

Join us Tuesday, March 24th at 7:00 p.m. for an epic adaptation of a Stephen King novella about a prison escape — filmed in Ohio!

Admission $8

About the film

After he is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the alleged murder of his wife and her lover in 1947, banker Andy Dufresne is transferred to the notoriously-tough Shawshank Prison to live out the rest of his days behind bars. Andy, however, is innocent and doesn’t intend to give up his freedom so easily. As time goes on, he strikes up a close bond with “Red”, another inmate who is serving a life sentence, and the two men learn many things from one another. Eventually, Andy’s financial know-how is utilized by the prison’s cold-hearted warden to improve Shawshank’s balance sheet (and to help the warden launder a significant amount of money). As a result, Andy gets an easier time in the harsh conditions of the prison. When Red, skilled at smuggling contraband items, procures for Andy a couple of unique items, Andy plans his escape now that he’s no longer under the warden’s watchful eye. Andy finally implements his well-thought-out scheme and breaks free of Shawshank’s chains. Once he gets to the outside world again, he goes off-the-grid, but not before he brings the warden’s scandalous behavior into the light. Andy also leaves a trail for Red, who eventually serves his time, earns parole, sets out to find his old friend.

Based on a novella by Stephen King and nominated for 7 Academy Awards, The Shawshank Redemption is another sterling example of King’s ability to tell incredible stories. Similar in tone and scope to other classic prison dramas like The Birdman of Alcatraz, Cool Hand Luke, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this epic drama examines how incarceration and the desire to overcome authority can unveil a person’s true humanity and inspire them to achieve amazing things!

Check out the rest of our line-up of Enter the Kingdom films

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 142 MIN142 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

National Evening of Science on Screen: PROJECT HAIL MARY with Dr. Sarah Wyatt

Viewing: April 20,2026

Watch Trailer

Join us Tuesday, March 24th at 7:30 p.m. as we feature a special screening of Project Hail Mary that includes a talk by Ohio University Distinguished Professor Dr. Sarah Wyatt!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

“Project Hail Mary – The Realities of Living in Space”

Plant molecular biologist Dr. Sarah Wyatt discusses her collaborations with NASA, including five experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station, to consider what living in space might look like for future astronauts

 

About the speaker

Dr. Wyatt is an internationally renowned leader in the field of plant responses to gravity and is greatly admired by colleagues in her field for her cutting-edge research. Her research includes multiple collaborations with NASA, with five experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station. In 2023, she was also selected as one of just 18 scientists nationwide to help develop a 10-year research roadmap supporting human exploration of the moon and Mars.

A highly regarded educator, Dr. Wyatt has received numerous teaching awards throughout her OHIO tenure. She is the immediate past chair of Faculty Senate and previously led Ohio University’s interdisciplinary graduate program in molecular and cellular biology. At Ohio University, Dr. Wyatt makes a daily difference with her relentless support of the research enterprise by collaborating and working to build research infrastructure.

Dr. Wyatt is deeply engaged in advancing the educational mission of both her profession and Ohio University. She founded and continues to lead the Tech Savvy Ohio program, which highlights women in STEM fields, and has contributed to national education initiatives through the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology’s Space Biology Education Committee. She also established Ohio University’s Science Café and the Young Scholars OHIO program and has been an active participant in campus outreach efforts that promote scientific learning.

Most recently, Dr. Wyatt has brought the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program to Ohio University. The program, run by NCESSE, provides students with the opportunity to work in teams to develop an experiment to fly to the International Space Station (ISS), write a proposal and compete with their peers for the experiment to fly. To date, one experiment has flown with another scheduled for this summer and a third waiting for its turn to launch. In addition, she is a dedicated mentor to both graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom have gone on to co-author scholarly publications with her.

 

Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

 

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Friends of India Present: DEVDAS

Watch Trailer

Join us Saturday, March 28th at 1:00 p.m. for a special event screening of a Hindi romance starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, presented by the Friends of India!

Admission is FREE and open to the Public – Tickets are required

Indian snacks and beverages will be provided by the Friends of India organization

About the film

One of the greatest love stories ever told, Devdas is based on the 1917 novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and tells the story of a man whose inability to marry his childhood best friend (and true love) ultimately sends him on a broken-hearted downward spiral into alcoholism. It is the story of how emotionally crushing it can be when cultural traditions and social hierarchies obstruct the true feelings of one’s heart and the fulfilment of one’s destiny.

Winning numerous awards and garnering substantial box office success, Devdas is a beautiful film that is considered a true classic of Indian cinema.

 

Click here to find out more about the Friends of India

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 185 MIN185 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Ohio Goes to The Movies: HE’S ONLY MISSING + LETTING GO with Special Guest Robin Smith

Join us Sunday, March 29th at 7:00 p.m. for a special event screening of two documentaries by Ohio University alumna Robin Smith to celebrate Ohio Goes to The Movies and Vietnam Veterans Day!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

A reception with filmmaker Robin Smith will take place at The Athena from 6:00-7:00 p.m

We were asleep when the telegram arrived. Two Marines in uniform, feeling out of place in Athens, Ohio, stood nervously on our front porch. Mom’s face must have betrayed her deepest fear. The colonel, my father’s friend, rushed in.

“Jane, he’s only missing!”

Words filled with hope, to comfort a wife too young to be a widow.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Robin Smith will introduce two powerful films chronicling her family’s search for answers about the fate of Colonel Robert N. Smith (USMC) whose plane was shot down over North Vietnam in 1969.

About the films

He’s Only Missing (1978, 30 min)

This film explores the “state of limbo” Robin and her family were experiencing not knowing if their loved one was dead or alive.

Letting Go (1995, 12 min)

Two decades later the first shred of information about what had happened emerged. Robin traveled with a CBS News crew to her father’s crash site in Vietnam and uncovered answers that had eluded the family for years.

About the Speaker

Robin Smith is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker with 48 years of professional experience. A graduate of Ohio University (BFA ’72) and the School of Public Communication at Boston University (MS ’78), her first documentary was a personal story about her father, a fighter pilot declared Missing in Action in 1969 during the Vietnam war. CBS bought rights to the film, and in 1978 and she began a career in broadcast journalism on CBS News Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt.

In 1990, she established a nonprofit production company to collaborate with educators, artists, and innovative program leaders in the creation of documentary shorts and public awareness videos. Examples of video|action’s award-winning work can be found at www.videoaction.org.

Robin Smith is currently a member of the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts Leadership Council and a Trustee on the Ohio University Foundation Board.

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

ACLU Ohio Presents: HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY + A Post-Show Panel Discussion

Watch Trailer

Join us Tuesday, March 31st at 6:00 p.m. for a special event screening of the documentary Heightened Scrutiny that details the legal challenges of access to gender-affirming care in the battle for trans rights!

This event will include a post-show panel discussion – See below for info on the panelists

Admission is FREE and open to the Public

Tickets are required and can be claimed by registering via scanning the QR Code on the flyer or by clicking the ACLU registration link below:

Register for Heightened Scrutiny Event

Once you have registered and have claimed your ACLU ticket, please present it to us upon arrival at the event and we will give you an Athena Cinema ticket — this allows us to keep an accurate headcount of attendance for the event

 

 

About the film

Fearless civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio battles at the Supreme Court for transgender adolescents’ access to gender-affirming healthcare, confronting not only the legal system but also a media landscape that distorts public perception and threatens the struggle for trans rights. With the dangerous SCOTUS decision upholding the ban on life-saving healthcare, this landmark film is an urgent call to action against bigotry and injustice.

About the panelists

Keri Johnson (they/them) is a journalist and poet from Southeast Ohio whose work is rooted in place and public service. Prior to co-founding the Independent, Keri was an AmeriCorps VISTA and general assignment reported for the The Logan Daily News.

 

 

Micah McCarey (he/him) serves aswhere everyone feels seen, safe, and valued. Dr. McCarey brings both lived experience and a governance-informed perspective to conversations about civil rights, democratic norms, and the responsibilities of local leadership during time of heightened scrutiny.

 

 

Jamie Miller (he/him) is a trans man serving as the Programs and Organizing Manager at United Campus Ministry. He oversees the free community meals and works with community members to provide and receive direct action. He also runs Bad Art Club. When he’s not at work, he’s walking in the creek with his dog.

 

 

Tess Sabo (she/her) is a passionate defender of liberty an has been professionally helping to protect civil liberties for over seven years. In her work, Tess has in-depth knowledge of each of ACLU OH’s legal cases, which she enjoys sharing with the public in terms easy for non-lawyers to understand.

 

 

 

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 85 MIN85 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Enter the Kingdom: THE MIST

Watch Trailer

Join us Tuesday, March 31st at 7:00 p.m. as we close out our Enter the Kingdom Series with a good ol’ fashioned monster flick where the real adversary is divisiveness!

Admission $8

About the film

As a mysterious mist begins to envelop the town of Bridgton, Maine, the residents begin to hear rumors of sinister things out there in the obscuring fog…nightmarish things! It soon becomes clear that the situation is more serious than just some freak weather system as military personnel start appearing and townsfolk start disappearing. As more people fall victim to the mist monsters, the tension mounts and paranoia runs high. Some of the residents go so far as to suggest that the mist and its minions are some form of divine retribution delivered upon humankind by god; while others strive to maintain a sense of calm and order to push back against the breakdown of the social contract. Ultimately, these two factions are brought into a bloody confrontation with one another in lieu of banding together to battle the common enemy…a horrific, Lovecraftian enemy that may be the result of strange US Army experiments.

Hailed for its stellar camera work and its politically relevant storyline, The Mist is one of three adaptations of Stephen King’s writing directed by Hungarian filmmaker and fellow master-of-horror Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, The Walking Dead, Stranger Things)!

Check out the rest of our line-up of Enter the Kingdom films

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 126 MIN126 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

AMERICAN FICTION: Last Day Thursday, March 7th

Watch Trailer Director: Cord Jefferson
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K Brown

Jeffrey Wright stars as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a struggling writer who decides half-jokingly to write a book that leans heavily into “Black” stereotypes to appease his publishing company (but, also, a little out of spite). The book, however, becomes an unexpected critical and financial success, and Ellison is faced with dealing with the fame and fallout from his underhanded act.

A smart and sharp comedy, AMERICAN FICTION has been highly praised by critics and is considered by many to be Jeffrey Wright’s finest performance in a career full of stellar roles. Featuring a fantastic supporting cast that includes Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K Brown, and John Ortiz, AMERICAN FICTION has not only won numerous awards on the independent film festival circuit, but has also been nominated for Best Picture by both the Golden Globes and The Critic’s Choice awards councils.

 

 

 

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online
Running Time: 117 MIN117 MIN
Closed Captioning is available for this film. Open Captioning is available for this film. Listening Aids are available for this film. Descriptive Aids are available for this film. This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

Read full story · Comments { 0 }