The Athens International Film and Video Festival will be reeling in quite an audience this weekend with a wide variety of films, many of which were submitted by Ohio University students.
The festival, which will be hosted by the Athena Cinema on Court Street, kicks off Friday and will run through April 19.
The field of OU student films includes everything from comedic shorts and animated films to full-length features.
Juan Huang, a third-year graduate student in the MFA film program, will be presenting her short titled Panic Button, as part of the Comedy Night Part II competition show.
The film is a short comedy about a librarian who gets bored and decides to explore the functions of a panic button.
“(I encourage everyone to) come out and get some laughs,” Huang said.
The film idea emerged upon Huang’s employment at the library, discovering that there was a panic button, and students contemplating pushing it. Her film will be showing as one of seven short films that will be screened April 16 at 9:45 p.m. at the cinema.
The documentary, Male Fendom, was made by second year Master of Fine Arts film student Shay Willard. The film will be part of the Gender Benders competition show at 4:45 p.m. April 19 at the Athena Cinema.
Willard follows a character named Stuart, a cross-dresser, through one night’s appointment with a man from out of town. The film aims to take a deeper look into Stuart’s lifestyle and gender identity.
“I hope that people come away from it with a different view of his chosen lifestyle,” Willard said.
His short will be one of three showing in the competition.
Winning participants of the competition shows in the festival will be submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be nominated for an Oscar. All competition shows that start prior to 6 p.m. are free, barring feature films that start before 6 p.m. Tickets for those will be sold at the matinee price of $5.
“Everyone should come and see a free movie,” Willard said. “There is something for everyone.”
Sponsors for the festival include the College of Fine Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, Arts for Ohio and other arts affiliated organizations. Students and professionals have been provided with a platform to showcase their work to the public.
Students can receive free tickets, provided by Arts for Ohio, to the screenings. Only a limited number of student tickets are available, and regular admission prices will be charged once they run out.
Students can obtain a ticket by presenting their student ID at the Athena Cinema ticket counter.
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