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Spotlight on Documentary: THE RUBI GIRLS

Watch Trailer Director: Jonathan McNeal
Awards: Audience Award- Best Documentary, Fire Island Film Festival; Audience Award- Best of Festival Out on Film, Atlanta, GA

Combining live performance, interview, and archival footage from “the early days”, this documentary not only traces the history of the “Girls” and their madcap antics, but also attempts to redefine the term “family values.” After shooting
miscellaneous footage while in film school, filmmaker Jonathan McNeal  became a member of the Rubi Girls’ extended family and a regular performer. Due in part to his presence, the cameras were able to catch many of the girls in
raw form without inhibitions. The piece captures both the charisma of the men and the excitement of their adoring fans. The performance footage has a fresh, vigorous energy with a smart edge, and test audiences called this portrait both “uplifting” and “full of life.”
The Rubi Girls are a dynamic, close-knit troupe of friends who have been performing since the mid 1980s. Comprised of men from various professional backgrounds, the group began performing in attics and living rooms during college. What started on Rubicon Street near the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in 1985 has grown into a frenzy for tickets when a new show is announced! In 1999, the group was honored by the City of Dayton with its honorable Community Service Award, and the local press in Dayton has been incredibly supportive as well. Over the years, The Rubi Girls have helped raise more than $1,000,000 for HIV/AIDS and gay-related causes.
This screening is part of the Athena’s SPOTLIGHT ON DOCUMENTARY SERIES, and is brought to you in part by Ohio University’s LGBT center and OU Performing Arts.
The screening will be followed by a performance from the Rubi Girls and a Q&A.
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Running Time: 28 min. 28 MIN
Not Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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Science on Screen: WAGES OF FEAR

Watch Trailer Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Writer(s): Georges Arnaud (novel), Henri-Georges Clouzot (screenplay)
Cast: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter Van Eyck
Language: French

On March 22, the Athena Cinema will take place in a national evening of Science on Screen.  Science on Screen℠ is a project of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Coolidge Corner Theater. The Science on Screen program pairs with a short talk with a scientist or technology expert. The free Science on Screen events are fun and engaging and offer dynamic speakers an unexpected jumping point to teach their field of expertise in a way that is accessible to a diverse audience.
The Athena’s Science on Screen program is a series of events that pairs feature films and documentaries with presentations by renown scientific experts and technological innovators. This year, we will be showing WAGES OF FEAR, a forgotten classic from 1953.
In a squalid South American oil town, four desperate men sign on for a suicide mission to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin over a treacherous mountain route to a faraway oil fire. The result is one of the greatest thrillers ever committed to celluloid, a white-knuckle ride from France’s legendary master of suspense, Henri-Georges Clouzot, presented in a complete HD digital restoration.
Before the film, Professor Kenneth L. Brown from the Department of Chemistry will give a presentation on the physiology of fear.

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Running Time: 147 min.147 MIN
Not Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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ANOMALISA: Last Day Thursday, February 18th

Watch Trailer Director: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman
Writer(s): Charlie Kaufman
Cast: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan
Awards: 2016 Golden Globes: Nominated for Best Animated Picture

COINCIDING THIS WINTER WITH A RETROSPECTIVE OF CHARLIE KAUFMAN’S BEST FILMS. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS!

A man crippled by the mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary.

“It is the Gone with the Wind of existentialist puppet movies.” -Allen Salkin, New York Daily News

“It’s fair to say that Anomalisa is unlike any movie you’ve ever seen, which is something fair to say about pretty much any movie Charlie Kaufman is involved in.” -Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

“Anomalisa is a far more human story than most films I’ve seen with actual humans in them.” -Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun

*Visual impairment and hearing impairment devices are available for this film.*

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Running Time: 90 minutes90 MIN
R Rated

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ANGEL AZUL

Watch Trailer Director: Marcy Cravat
Writer(s): Marcy Cravat

ANGEL AZUL tells the story of one artist’s inspiring attempt to draw attention to the perilous situation coral reefs currently face worldwide. Jason DeCaires Taylor is an eco-sculptor who casts cement statues from live human models and installs them on the ocean floor to create an artificial coral reef. Over time the statues grow coral, provide habitat for marine life and a diversion for tourists, offering the natural reefs a reprieve from heavy usage. Through the hauntingly beautiful underwater world created by this incredible eco-sculptor, we are reminded that everything connects.

Topics: Ecosystems, marine life, climate disruption, environmental art, life.

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Running Time: 74 minutes74 MIN

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Sustainability Series: INHABIT: A PERMACULTURE PERSPECTIVE

Watch Trailer Director: Costa Boutsikaris
Language: English

Introducing permaculture: a design method that offers an ecological lens for solving issues related to agriculture, economics, governance, and more. For those familiar, it will be a call to action and a glimpse
into what’s possible — what kind of projects and solutions are already underway. For those unfamiliar, it will be an introduction to a new way of being and a new way of relating to the earth. For everyone, it will be a reminder that humans are capable of being planetary healing forces. Applicable to Ohio farming.
Topics: Permaculture, agriculture, farming, innovation, economics, governance, ecology. Talkback with panelists Theresa Moran, Arts and Sciences Food Studies Theme leader; Paige Walters, International Development and Environmental Studies Student; Weston Lombard, Solid Ground Farm Athens County

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Running Time: 92 minutes92 MIN
Not Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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Sustainability Series: BIKES VS. CARS

Watch Trailer Director: Fredrik Gertten
Writer(s): Fredrik Gertten
Language: English

Climate change and never-ending gridlocks frustrate people more than ever. Instead of whining, people in cities around the world take on the bicycle as a do-it-yourself solution. Road rage and poor city planning creates daily death amongst the bicyclists. And now they demand safe lanes. From bike activists in Sao Paulo and Los Angeles, fighting for safe bike lanes, to the City of Copenhagen, where forty percent commute by bike daily, BIKES VS CARS will look at both the struggle for bicyclists in a society dominated by cars, and the revolutionary changes that could take place if more cities moved away from car-centric models.
Topics: Bicycles, automobiles, transportation, global policies, social justice, climate, environment, oil, economics. Talkback with panelists Paul Logue, Athens City Planner; Pete Kotses, Athens City Council; Sam Crowl, Office of Sustainability.
“Gertten has put in the time to capture how these cities’ unique scenarios unfold to mount a compelling case against the powerful automotive, oil and construction lobbies.” – Martin Tsai, Los Angeles Times
“Watching a teacher lead a group of schoolchildren around busy Bogotá on their little bikes, teaching them how to safely navigate their city on their own power, you might feel hopeful for the future of eco-friendly transportation.” – Meave Gallagher, Village Voice

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Running Time: 90 minutes90 MIN
Not Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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Sustainability Series: THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Watch Trailer Director: Avi Lewis
Writer(s): Naomi Klein
Language: English

This film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond. Provocative, compelling, and accessible to even the most climate-fatigued viewers, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING will leave you refreshed and inspired, reflecting on the ties between us, the kind of lives we really
want, and why the climate crisis is at the center of it all.
Topics: Climate change, policy, environment, social justice, biodiversity, global implications of climate disruption, fossil fuels, economics.

Talkback with panelists Nancy Manring, Arts and Sciences Sustainability Theme leader; Edna Wangui, Geography; Eddie Smith, Environmental Studies student.

“Klein and those impassioned protesters provide something that has been in short supply in the predecessors – namely, a modicum of hope for the future.” – Michael Rechtshaffen, Los Angeles Times
 “It distinguishes itself among similar planet-loving docs by showing evidence there is hope in what can often seem an overwhelming bleak task to begin repairs to an industrial-damaged world.” – Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

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Running Time: 89 minutes89 MIN
Not Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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BROOKLYN

Watch Trailer Director: John Crowley
Writer(s): Nick Hornby, Colm Tóibín
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson
Awards: 2016 Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Film, Best Actress, & Best Adapted Screenplay

An Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a new romance. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.

“A cinematic snow-globe of nostalgia, a portrait of two worlds that aches with family lost and freedoms found. It is a beautiful film to experience.” -Ty Burr, Boston Globe

“It’s one of the most satisfying films of 2015.” -Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

*Closed caption, hearing impairment, and visual impairment devices are made available for this film.*

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Running Time: 111 minutes111 MIN
PG-13 Rated

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BAG IT. IS YOUR LIFE TOO PLASTIC?

Watch Trailer Director: Suzan Beraza
Writer(s): Michelle Curry Wright
Language: English

Americans use 60,000 plastic bags every five minutes—single-use disposable bags that we mindlessly throw away. But where is “away?” Where do the bags and other plastics end up, and at what cost to our environment, marine life and human health? BAG IT follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he navigates our plastic world. Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average American who decides to take a closer look at our cultural love affair with plastics. When Jeb’s journey takes a personal twist, we see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up with us and what we can do about it.
Topics: Plastic, policy, environment, health, marine life, fossil fuels, alternatives to plastic, economics. Talkback with panelists Jennifer Cochran, Athens City Council; Heather Fuston, Rural Action; Scott Miller, Zero Waste Initiative, Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs.
“Humble documentary makes a non-biodegradable impression.” – Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
“Recommended Earth Day viewing. At a brisk, informative 79 minutes, (the film) easily holds one’s attention.” – Fr. Chris Carpenter, Movie Dearest

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Running Time: 74 minutes74 MIN
Not Rated
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible

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CAROL: Last Day Thursday, February 4th

Watch Trailer Director: Todd Haynes
Writer(s): Phyllis Nagy, Patricia Highsmith
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson
Awards: 2016 Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, & Best Original Score

In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.

“Carol is an overwhelmingly beautiful film. It looks like a dream, it sounds like whispered want, and it feels like falling in love in all its stomach turning terror and ecstasy.” -Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press

“Cate Blanchett is outstanding as a married woman who falls for a younger woman. As that younger woman, Rooney Mara is even better.” -Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

“You leave the film’s soft-grained world reluctantly, as if taking off a warm coat when it’s still a little chilly inside.” -Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

*Closed captioning and visual impairment devices are available for this film.*

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Running Time: 118 minutes118 MIN
R Rated

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