The Athena Cinema, at 20 S. Court St., offers both popular and independent movies for low prices.
Situated among all the eateries on Court Street is a small, artsy movie theater.
The Athena Cinema, at 20 S. Court St., holds many events throughout the academic school year, the majority of which are free for students.
For feature films, the regular admission price is $5 before 6 p.m. and $6.50 after 6 p.m. On Tuesdays, the price is reduced to $4, and on Wednesdays, guests are given a free small popcorn with the purchase of a ticket. The Athena also offers a student loyalty card. If a student who has one of the cards sees six films at the theater, they get to see the seventh film for free.
One of the events the Athena hosts is the Sustainability Series, which takes place in the fall and spring semesters. It typically features six different films dealing with issues of sustainability, Alexandra Kamody, the director of the Athena, said.
Corinne Barnhart, a junior studying applied nutrition, said she enjoys the Sustainability Series.
“(The films in the series) always have interesting and relevant topics, and they’re free,” Barnhart, who has been working at the Athena since 2013, said.
For family weekends, the Athena often shows films that are “cult classics,” Kamody said. The theater screened The Princess Bride for Ohio University students and their moms during Moms Weekend of the 2015-16 academic year.
For Sibs Weekend, the theater partnered with the OU Harry Potter Alliance and screened the first four Harry Potter films. Kamody said the films “had a big turnout and good feedback,” so the Athena will be continuing the series by showing Harry Potter films five through eight for Sibs Weekend 2017.
The Harry Potter marathon was not the only new event at the Athena. The theater hosted an event named "Drop Your Shorts," in which community members and students could submit their own short films for a public screening. The community screening will be back again during the upcoming academic year, and Kamody said there is a possibility of a new grand prize — the winning short film might be shown before every feature film for a week.
“We are definitely coming back with a full schedule,” Kamody said. “All students should check out the Athena because we have so many free events for students, and we have so many things they wouldn’t get to see otherwise — just opportunities to see films that you wouldn’t see at a bigger theater.”
Every Monday, the Athena shows the feature films with open captioning. Open captions are similar to subtitles. This is a new initiative for the theater to become more accessible to those who are hard of hearing or deaf. Kamody said the theater will continue to show movies with open captions every Monday.
The Athena is “passionate about showing independent films,” Kamody said.
“Maybe they didn’t have a $40 million budget, but they have a really great story,” she said. “Giving those filmmakers a chance to have their work be seen ... can really foster the growth that they need to be more successful.”
Joe Votaw has been working at the Athena since 2012. The senior studying integrated media said the best part about the Athena is the “friendly atmosphere” and the “cool” people that work and watch movies at the theater.
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Votaw encouraged students to come check out the Athena because it has “great movies at really good prices.”
“If you ever have a time where you aren’t doing something, go see a movie at the Athena,” he said. “There is a 100 percent chance that it will be awesome.”
@georgiadee35
