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OUTlaws Pride Series: PINK FLAMINGOS

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Join us Thursday, June 25th as we wrap up our Pride Series with the ultimate “midnight movie”!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

** Warning: This film contains scenes that may not be appropriate for young viewers **

About the film

Infamous drag queen Divine stars in this quintessential 1972 classic from writer-director John Waters that tells the story of Babs Johnson, an illustrious criminal known as “the filthiest person alive!” When two lesser hoodlums take it upon themselves to try and outdo Babs, the grotesquerie, bizarre-ness, crudity, and sadistic sensationalism rise to levels that only Waters could have the guts to put on film!

This self-proclaimed “exercise in poor taste” may not be for the squeamish, but this film put John Waters on the map in terms of a filmmaker willing to push the boundaries of the artform, and it became a cornerstone of the “abject art” movement. If you’re brave enough to make it to the end, you’ll definitely leave with the knowledge that you just witnessed something unique in all of cinematic history!

Check out the rest of our Pride Series Line-up

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Running Time: 93 MIN93 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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BABES: Last Day Thursday, June 13th

Watch Trailer Director: Pamela Adlon
Cast: Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau

Eden (Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) have been BFF’s since childhood; however, they have very different approaches to Life — Dawn is a responsible, married mother of two; Eden, on the other hand, lives life on more carefree terms. After a one-night stand, Eden finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and, deciding to follow through with having the baby, turns to Dawn for help and advice. As the two friends wrestle with the complexities of motherhood, their friendship gets put to the test (along with lots of laugh-inducing fun from two top-notch comedians!) and each comes away a little wiser in the end.

Rounding out the cast of this latest Glazer project is Oliver Platt, Hasan Minhaj, and Sandra Bernhard. Directed by Pamela Adlon (the voice actress for “Bobby” from the TV show King of the HillI), Babes debuted at the SXSW in March 2024 and is sure to be another feather in the cap for the zany star and co-creator of  Broad City.

 

 

 

 

 

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Running Time: 109 MIN109 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

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TUESDAY: Last Day Thursday, June 20th

Watch Trailer Director: Daina O. Pusić
Cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lola Petticrew, Leah Harvey, Arinzé Kene

From A24 Studios comes a powerful story about life, death, and love.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep) takes a step outside of her usual brilliantly funny persona to star as Zora, a single mother who lives with her terminally ill daughter “Tuesday”, played by the award-winning Irish actor Lola Petticrew. Things take a fantastical turn when, one day, a strange bird – a talking, size-changing parrot – arrives, setting mother and daughter on an emotional rollercoaster ride as they confront the meaning of existence and learn that the true essence of Love is knowing when and how to let go.

Tuesday is the directorial debut of filmmaker Daina O. Pusić and features mesmerizing cinematography by Alexis Zabé (The Florida Project). Dreyfus’s profoundly moving performance has been hailed by critics for its honesty, depth, and poignancy. Pusić’s affecting screenplay builds a bridge between fantasy and something very real at the heart of us all.

 

 

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Running Time: 111 MIN111 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

It’s clear that both Pusić and the actors...care about the characters. And because they do, the story resonates even more strongly...

Emily Zemler
The Observer
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I SAW THE TV GLOW: Last Day Thursday, June 13th

Watch Trailer Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Fred Durst

Back For One Week Only!

From A24 Studios comes a new psychological thriller from filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun. After striking up a friendship, two teen outcasts — Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Bridgette Lundy-Paine) — fake a slumber party at a schoolmate’s house in order to secretly watch an episode of The Pink Opaque, a show for young adults featuring strong mythological and supernatural themes. The two fall in love with the show (and maybe a little with each other). Maddy’s troubled life compels her to run away from home. Owen considers joining her, but he’s forced to remain and take care of his dying mother. Fast-forward 10 years, Maddy mysteriously returns to tell Owen that the substance of The Pink Opaque is, in fact real, and that the two can live there in happiness…if only he can see fit to believe.

With its striking visuals and excellent music soundtrack — in fact, musicians including Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, Phoebe Bridgers, Haley Dahl of Sloppy Jane, and Kristina Esfandiari of Miserable all appear in the film — I Saw the TV Glow is sure to be a hit with fans of Stranger Things and the rest of the A24 catalogue of films.

 

 

 

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Running Time: 100 MIN100 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

It reaches inside your imagination and stirs it around, making new connections between familiar concepts. It’s not just great, it’s fascinating and revelatory.

William Babbiani -- The Wrap
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Beat the Heat: WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT

Watch Trailer Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Kathleen Turner, Mel Blanc
Awards: Oscar - Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Special Achievement Award

Eddie Valiant is a down-and-out gumshoe in late-1940’s Hollywood who gets entwined in a case that is sure to test what he’s made of. When a big-shot cartoon producer hires Valiant to dig up some dirt on Jessica, the the seemingly-unfaithful “toon” bombshell spouse of cartoon superstar Roger Rabbit, the private eye travels to “Toontown” to sniff out the goings-on of a rival studio exec (and the guy who happens to run Toontown itself). Valiant goes to see Jessica perform her famously sultry crooning act and seems to catch her in the act of seducing the rival exec; however, the man is murdered the following day and Roger Rabbit becomes Suspect No. 1. Valiant has his doubts about Rabbit’s guilt and ends up helping him get to the bottom of this strange set of circumstances. This puts the two at odds with Judge Doom – the chief justice of Toontown – who might just be the lynchpin of what starts to look more and more like a frame job!

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Click here to see the rest of the Beat the Heat summer line-up

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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Running Time: 104 MIN104 MIN
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Beat the Heat: THE RUGRATS MOVIE

Watch Trailer Director: Norton Virgien, Igor Kovalyov

Little Tommy Pickles’ new baby brother gets born early…so early, in fact, that Tommy hasn’t had the chance to figure out how he’ll deal with no longer being the apple of his parents’ eyes. Making matters worse is the fact that the new tyke is kind of a pain to have at home. So, Tommy and his friends hatch a plan to take the baby back to the hospital; however, the plan goes awry and the gang lose the babe in the woods. It’s now up to Tommy to find his kid brother and get him back home where he actually belongs, having hijinks and adventures along the way!

Click here to see the rest of the Beat the Heat summer line-up

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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Running Time: 79 MIN79 MIN
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Beat the Heat: ERNEST & CELESTINE

Watch Trailer Director: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner
Writer(s): Daniel Pennac
Awards: Oscar - Best Animated Feature (nom)

In the orphanage underground where she lives, Celestine, a young mouse, has been taught that bears are nasty and evil…not the kind of folks one should associate with. As she prepares to follow the typical rodent trajectory of becoming a dentist, Celestine (who’d much rather be an artist) is tasked with stealthily venturing to the outside world where she must collect the lost baby teeth of bear cubs and bring them back for study. On one such outing, she is discovered by a family of bears and chased into the outside world. She spends a tense night of fear in a trash can and meets Ernest, a unique bear who might just change her ideas about how well mice and bears can get along.

Click here to see the rest of the Beat the Heat summer line-up

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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Running Time: 80 MIN80 MIN
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Beat the Heat: SONG OF THE SEA

Watch Trailer Director: Tomm Moore
Awards: Osacr - Best Animated Feature (nom)

Song of the Sea, the second film in Tomm Moore’s “Irish Folklore” trilogy, is the story of a young Irish boy named Ben who learns that his mute sister Saoirse is actually a “selkie” — a mythological creature that can shapeshift from human form to that of a seal. The two children are the son and daughter of a lighthouse keeper’s wife who disappeared after giving birth to the girl and is presumed to have died. Ben has always believed that Saoirse was at fault for their mother’s death and is resentful; however, when the duo run away from their Granny’s house to return to their lighthouse home, they have an adventure beyond their wildest imaginations: Saoirse is tasked with using her magical power of song to save all the world’s mythological beings from the evil witch Macha, and, in the process, restore the wholeness of her family’s broken home.

Click here to see the rest of the Beat the Heat summer line-up

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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Running Time: 93 MIN93 MIN
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From the Hills and Hollers: THIS IS PIKE COUNTY with Laura Paglin

Viewing: November 12,2026

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Join us Thursday, November 12th at 7:00 p.m. as our Appalachian Stories Series continues with a haunting and unforgettable documentary about coming of age in a landscape that has been left behind!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

About the film

This powerful, intimate, and multi-faceted documentary from filmmaker Laura Paglin delves into the day-to-day lives of the local residents of Piketon and Pike County, Ohio. As the story moves from person to person, an image emerges of a close-knit community struggling to keep its identity while factors like poverty, drug addiction, lack of opportunity, a constantly-shifting cultural landscape, the construction of a nuclear waste storage facility, and an unsolved murder all threaten to erase the values and quality of life that took generations to build. Though the future often looks bleak for Pike County, this film beautifully relates the struggle between the temptation to give up and the urge to hold on.

About the speaker

Laura Paglinis a documentary filmmaker whose more recent films have dealts pecifically with struggles of marginalized communities. No Umbrella–Election Day in the City, which brings us a street level view of election day chaos as it played out in one inner city poling location, premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO. Facing Forward: A Student’s Story, which follows a charismatic but troubled teenager at a strict new inner city charter school, aired nationally on PBS. Paglin’s Unseen tells the complex and horrific story of the Anthony Sowell serial murders that were discovered in Cleveland, Ohio in 2009. Distributed by Filmrise, Unseen has become one of the more popular documentaries on Amazon Prime, having made it to many “best of” lists.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: As a long-time Ohio resident, I hadn’t known about Pike County until a 2016 mass murder brought it into the national spotlight. Curious, I visited in 2017, expecting to explore the tragedy’s aftermath but found myself more drawn to the people, the landscape and stories unrelated to the crime. To gain deeper access into the lives of the these individuals, I lived at the budget motel featured in the film. Over time, a larger story of generational struggles emerged—from drug abuse to environmental degradation, to the murders themselves rooted in a child custody dispute. I realized a traditional narrative wouldn’t capture Pike County’s complexity, so I adopted a thematic approach, allowing each story to stand alone while contributing to the community’s portrait. This method let me juxtapose the community’s pain with its caring, joy, and resilience.

 

Check out the rest of our Hills & Hollers Series Line-Up

This series is sponsored by University Libraries, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, OU School of Film, and The Office of Signature Academic Experiences.

 

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Running Time: 78 MIN78 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible
Thursday 11/127:00
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CERAMICS AT THE CINEMA

The Ceramics at the Cinema series is a monthly ceramics series that allows participants the opportunity to glaze a bisqueware ceramic project at The Athena Cinema on a weekend afternoon.

The art of crafting things out of ceramics has been a part of human civilization for tens-of-thousands of years. The remnants of pottery from all of history’s greatest cultures have revealed how the artisans who molded these artifacts out of simple materials also imbued them with soulful artistic flair.

We’re thrilled to bring this ancient tradition into the modern day (and add our own little movie-themed twist) with our new series of events – Ceramics at the Cinema!

Much like our Paint & Sip Party events where we walk you through the creation of a movie-themed painting that is paired with a movie screening, participants for these Ceramics at the Cinema events will be provided with a bisqueware ceramic object – a piece of pottery that has been fired once and hardened – that relates to a film we’ll be screening. You’ll then be instructed how to customize your object with a decorative glaze. Lastly, we’ll collect the glazed ceramics and have them fired a final time to seal the glazing. The finished pieces will then be available for pick up during the week after the event. The end result will be a unique, tangible, and useful cinematic-ceramic souvenir from your time spent with us. Plus, we offer package deals that include a ticket for the related film with your registration fee!

We have three ticket options:

– Ceramics at the Cinema Basic – $30: includes admission to the class with all materials for your ceramic piece

– Ceramics at the Cinema Deluxe Single – $50: includes admission to the class with all the materials for your ceramic piece, 1 ticket to the Movie on the Rooftop, and 2 drinks of your choice

– Ceramics at the Cinema Deluxe Couple – $100: includes admission to the class for 2 with all the materials for your ceramic pieces, 2 tickets to the Movie on the Rooftop, and 4 drinks of your choice

Be advised that open slots to attend the glazing tutorials will be limited to 30 people. These events often sell out fast, so don’t wait to claim your spot.

Schedule:

Class arrival: 12:30-1 p.m.

Class session: 1-2 p.m.

Click the link below to visit our Movies on the Rooftop hubpage for more details about the films associated with the Ceramics at Cinema events:

Movies on the Rooftop

 

The classes will be led by Emily Beveridge and are suitable for beginner-level participants. Finished pieces will be ready for pick up at the cinema one week after the event.

Emily Beveridge has lived her entire adult life in Athens, Ohio, first coming to the city to study Painting at Ohio University in 2002. She is committed to public service, consistently serving as an Election Judge from 2002-2020, and as an Americorps VISTA for The Federal Valley Resource Center from 2006-2008. She served as the Program Specialist for Arts West, The City of Athens operated municipal arts center from 2017-2023. Beveridge currently serves as a Board Member for The Athens County Independent News, and The Athens Artist Memorial Project.

Emily holds a BFA and an MFA in Painting from Ohio University. She has instructed and organized arts education opportunities for youth since 2006. Over the past 22 years, she has helped create and promote countless cultural events for her community. She is a visual artist, curator, grant writer, graphic designer, gardener, and professional DJ handler. She is currently creating a series of paintings which will focus on themes of the medieval, the apocalypse and women’s rights.

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