Like the underground microcinema of the 1940s and 1950s, Casa Nueva is providing a night packed with back-to-back short films.
Tonight at Casa, 4 W. State St., several different types of movies surrounding the theme From Venereal Disease (V.D.) with Love
will show in light of Valentine's Day.
Cinerama! started because local movie lovers wanted to bring different types of films to Athens while providing an alternative form of entertainment.
There are a lot of very typical evenings Uptown and we are trying to be creative and I started thinking of people I knew like Ruth Bradley said Patrick Horne, creator of Cinerama! I wanted to be able to show my friends' movies my movies and movies from years gone by.
Bradley is the director for the Athens Center for Film and Video.
They based the idea on microcinemas of the 1940s and 1950s; these provided underground films in smaller viewing areas. In the last 10 to 12 years, microcinemas have sprung up in bigger cities like New York City and San Francisco, Bradley said.
These would be often times little storefronts that maybe have 30 seats in them. And they are usually run by artists or underground people. They don't show the latest Julia Roberts movie
Bradley said.
Cinerama! showings will be short nonfiction films, including some animation and documentary films. From Bradley's collection are several educational films, which range from how-to-cross-the-road videos for children to the dangers of marijuana for teenagers. Some of the titles showing tonight include Dating Do's and Dont's
Lunchroom Manners and V.D. - Every Thirty Seconds. There also will be a silent film directed by Horne and accompanied by Jett High Nites.
The Appalachian Media Access Center, Athens Center for Film and Video, the Student Film Guild and Speak-it! Pictures, pulled their resources together to make Cinerama! happen.
Whether Cinerama! continues is dependent on the turnout, Horne said. He said Casa contributed $100 for What Are Our Women Like in America from the New York City's Third World Newsreel, an alternative media arts organization, according to its Web site, http://www.twn.org/.
The film is about an Indian man who tries to find a wife but instead finds all the American Indian women corrupted by American culture.
Cinerama! was designed so people could relax and enjoy the films.
This is for fun. This isn't too serious. It's about going and being able to have something to drink and watch these really funny goofy movies that are totally corny and fun
Bradley said.
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