The Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St., will conclude its week of environmental film showings today, supported by a grant from Arts of Ohio and the College of Fine Arts.
With showings from last Friday to today, the Fractured Environments film symposium is a collaboration between Linda Lilienfeld; Ruth Bradley, manager of Athena Cinema; and Jeff Lovett, a graduate student studying art. Dr. Geoffrey Buckley, a geography professor, has also worked closely with Lilienfeld to create this event.
Lilienfeld is the project director of Let's Talk About Water, a group focused on sparking debate on college campuses about solving the environmental issues associated with water. The group collaborates with Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) to bring film symposiums to communities.
"We go into a community (via invite)," Lilienfeld said. "We find out what themes are important in the local community."
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking - a method used to extract natural gas in deep well drilling, according Gasland's website - is a potential issue in Athens.
"More than half our drinking water comes from groundwater," said Buckley, who added that by shattering a layer of earth, fracking can lead to contamination of water.
After the Tuesday showing of Gasland, a film focusing on fracking, audience members reacted.
"The room erupted," Lilienfeld said.
Lilienfeld has led a discussion panel each day at 6 p.m. about the films, issues and potential solutions. Natalie Barman, a community member, returned Wednesday for the panel discussion and posed a question.
"What can we do?" Barman said. "If we can't do it here, then where can we go?"
"The argument for fracking is that it is better than mining, because it doesn't lead to global warming," said Buckley, who added that political reform is necessary in order to enact permanent environmental change.
Each weekday since last Friday, the Athena showed a different film at 4, 7 and 9 p.m. with an additional 2 p.m. showing Saturday and Sunday. As of Wednesday evening, more than 400 students and community members had attended the film showings. Bradley said that this number was on par with last year.
"This is only the second year that we have done this," Bradley said. Even so, the week-long festival has allowed viewers to reconsider and remain aware of the environment.
Sarah Acomb, a sophomore studying environmental geography, watched several of the films, including Gasland and Tar Creek.
"(The films) make you want to change things," Acomb said.
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