Anyone who missed the chance to submit a short film to the Athens International Film Festival might have found a saving grace.
Sponsored by Arts for Ohio, the Athena Cinema will be hosting another Open Projector Night on Wednesday.
“We’re just working to build the name-recognition of the event month-to-month,” said Chris Iacofano, executive director of the Athena Cinema. “(We’re) still going to have hosts from OU Improv, and it’ll be a nice warm-up for the film fest.”
Joe Lalonde and Patrick White, members of OU Improv who will serve as hosts, invite students and community members to showcase their short films on the big screen. The winner of the event will receive a $50 gift card for Amazon.com.
“At Arts for Ohio, we always want to sponsor new events,” said Claire Berlin, manager of communications and marketing for Arts for Ohio. “This is a new endeavor that the Athena Cinema has been putting on that we wanted to help promote, as we feel it’s a great collaboration between students, people of the community and the resources here in Athens.”
Those who want to submit their films for screening must bring their work to the theater on either a DVD or a Blu-ray disc between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Only the first 10 films submitted will be selected for the event. They will be presented in the order in which they are brought to the theater.
“With the introduction of YouTube and other various Internet video sites, it’s nice to see your stuff on the big screen as opposed to just on a computer,” Berlin said. “Not everyone gets the chance to show their work on a theater screen, so it’s nice to bring a couple of friends to support you.”
The winner will be determined through an applause-o-meter, or by which film receives the biggest audience reception. The Athena Cinema advises that the films shouldn’t exceed eight minutes.
Though the formula of the show will be the same, Berlin said the films and audience members will be different, so the event will still entertain newcomers, regulars and everyone in between.
The screening will mark the fourth Open Projector Night at Athena Cinema. There will be one more this semester on April 24. Even though the show won’t be radically different, that doesn’t mean that it will be any less fun, Berlin said.
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