Examining the past four of the Athens International Film Festival + Video Festival.
I’ve been inside a movie theater for 19 1/2 hours, at least, in the past four days.
In that time, I have had maybe 15 hours of sleep max and my vision continues to blur as I walk around in a daze. Every now and then I remind myself to eat at least once and perform activities like showering or going to class.
Yes, it’s film festival week.
This may sounds tortuous, but I do it all for love. For the past four years, this has been a very special week for me. Day after day, hour after hour even, I get to check out riveting, thoughtful films back-to-back, talk to exciting filmmakers and see countries, landscapes and sometimes worlds I rarely see beyond this festival. It’s a magical time of year, and as I write this on Tuesday, I had already seen 11 movies and have another lined up soon.
Of course, by the time this runs, the Athens International Film + Video Festival will mostly have wrapped up. A lot of the films I reviewed and recommended — that are available on The Post website — already played out their full runs, and even if you devoted today to catching some, you’d probably get in two movies, max.
So, instead of talking about the movies I’ve loved and despised, I wanted to take this moment to reflect on what’s likely the last time I ever go to this homegrown festival. As of Thursday, I’ll have to bid farewell to the program that has treated me so well, giving me hours of free cinema joy with features that have enchanted me — if they weren’t nauseating or boring — through college.
I’ve been writing and covering the festival for the past three years in a row, with my freshman year as an outlander, where I actually volunteered my services. I can’t even imagine that kind of free time today. Those were the days.
I can’t say I’ve become a better critic or a better viewer over my time with the festival. Any progress I’ve made would have to come from an outsider perspective, and who would really want to do a case study on me?
But, I can say the Athens Film Festival has graciously allowed me to open my eyes on what cinema can be, helped me explore the textures of cinema and see what filmmakers across the globe give. It’s an annual worldwide tide of stories and cultures, and it’s always a fascinating experience. You jump from movie to movie to see these personalities, ideas and philosophies brought to the screen and this is an immensely gratifying experience. I can’t thank the people at the Athena Cinema enough for welcoming me so many times.
As I finish up my last week at the Athens International Film + Video Festival, I sit in the dark, hour after hour, with a wave of nostalgia and joy sweeping me as I recollect all the fantastic times I’ve had. There’s a good chance I can only see a handful of movies at the theater before I graduate. So it’s fitting this is likely my farewell to the Athena Cinema.
So with that, I say once again, thank you, and I hope this is not the end. I look forward to a day when I can say I’ll see you at the movies again.
Will Ashton is a senior studying journalism and a staff writer for HYPERLINK "http://thecelebritycafe.com/" \h TheCelebrityCafe.com. Email him at wa054010@ohio.edu or find him on Twitter at @thewillofash.
