Students enjoyed the 44th annual Athens International Film and Video Festival,
which took place at the Athena Cinema
during the week of April 3rd to April 9th, where attendants
were treated to a variety of short films, feature length films, and many unique
events throughout the week.
The event was marked by a unique and varied lineup of films,
ranging from many different genres. Those shown were separated into 3 distinctions;
special events, international features, and films in competition.
Special events included things like screenings with a
Q&A with the director afterwards.
Most of these were documentaries with some cultural significance to the
current political climate. For instance, the documentary “Whose Streets?” was
shown on Tuesday, which covers the recent Ferguson protest, retaliation to the
injustice of teenaged Michael Brown’s murder by law enforcement. The director
and activist, Sabaah Folayan, was in attendance to discuss his work after the
screening.
Perhaps the most unique instance of the special events was
the showing of “1984”, also on Tuesday. This was part of a National Event Day, where over
90 art house cinemas participated in showcasing one film. Based on George
Orwell’s novel, its portrayal of civil unrest and an oppressive government
mirror similar unrest in today’s political climate, making its screening more
relevant. Additionally, the film’s lead actor, John Hurt, had just passed away
3 months prior.
There were also a number of free after parties at various
locales around Athens, including one at The Union on Saturday that hosted some
experimental music performances, including the Ohio local band Us, Today, who
play an experimental version of post-rock.
The international features were more high profile narrative
films and documentaries from many different countries. Two of the more
noteworthy films shown were “My Life as a Zucchini” and “Toni Erdmann”. Both of
these films were shown nearly every day and had some prestige already, both
fresh from an appearance at the 89th Academy Awards, which took
place just 2 months earlier.
“My Life as a Zucchini”, or “My Life as a Courgette” in its
native country, is a Swiss-French stop motion animation film directed by Claude
Barras. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature,
competing with films like “Moana” and “Kubo and the Two Strings”, and lost to
“Zootopia.”
More adult-themed than many of its fellow animated contemporaries,
it tells the story of a young boy who likes to go by Zucchini, who’s alcoholic
mother has just died in an accident partially caused by him. He now lives in an
orphanage with many other little kids who become his friends over time. Running
at a brisk 66 minutes, its storytelling is concise and lean.
Glenn Kenny, writing for RogerEbert.com, says its strengths
are in its visuals, "Every frame has a striking bit of visual business going on therein, but not in a flashy way.. The children have big eyes that aren't creepy or kitschy but genuinely captivating. The creation of a world very much unlike our own but still entirely recognizable as a locus for pain and exhilaration is always to be celebrated."
“Toni Erdmann”, on the other hand, is a lengthy German-Austrian
comedy directed by Maren Ade. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best
Foreign Language Film. It was a favorite choice to win by critics but Iranian
film “The Salesman” ended up winning the honor. The nearly 3-hour film has been
praised for its central father-daughter relationship that gets most of the
laughs and is the heart of the story.
Jessica Kiang, a writer for The Playlist, compliments
the film on its humor, "The film is ridiculously funny at times, but the funny comes from the same place as the sad- these two wonderful characters, played faultlessly by Simonsichek and Hüller. And even the smallest performances are slivers of perfection."
The films in competition are the central conceit of the
festival as a whole. These films were selected specifically to be screened at
the festival, and they made up the bulk of the schedule. Essentially, a committee made up of the
Athens communities’ own artists and students watched every submitted film and
chose which ones would eventually be screened at the festival. A total of 235
films of varying lengths and subjects were selected out of a total of over 2000
sent in.
Additionally, there were incentives to be shown at the festival,
as many awards were up for grabs throughout the week. Those included best
Feature narrative, Feature Documentary, Animation, and Experimental. There were cash prizes attached to each award,
with The Black Bear Award, recognizing achievement in sound, netting a prize of
$500. The winners were announced at the festivals conclusion.
The winner of Feature Narrative was a Serbian film called
“All the Cities of the North”. It was noteworthy for its unconventional
storytelling, using focus on the industrial setting to tell its story.
Meanwhile, the winner of Feature Documentary was a film
called “Alone Among the Taliban”, a documentary from Iranian journalist Mohsen
Eslamzadeh, it portrays the director’s coverage of the time he spent with the
Taliban whilst in Afghanistan. The awards committee commended it for its unique
objective portrayal of a hot button issue to Americans.
Students who attended the festival were able to get into any
Competition Film for free before 5 pm, and otherwise had to pay $6.50 for each
show, or purchase a pass that would let them see 6 screenings for $30.
Alternatively, every showing had a limited amount of free
student tickets up for grabs. A student could present their student ID to get a
ticket. Once they were out, normal ticket prices would apply.
The Athens International Film and Video Festival has been an
institution since its start in 1974, and has been presenting unique films from
all over the world ever since. It’s a really great way to show support for the
art and cinema scene in Athens and will likely continue to make an impact in
the community for years to come.
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