On Wednesday, the Athena Cinema will welcome local filmmakers to debut their talents on the big screen at the theater’s open projector night.
The event will allow filmmakers in the community to showcase their short films. Those who participate have the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card as the grand prize.
Admission to the event is free because Arts for Ohio is funding the event.
“We’ve been trying to come up with new ways to explore the talented people here in Athens, and we feel this event will allow us to open up to new talent in an exciting way,” said Chris Iacofano, the executive director of the Athena Cinema.
Joe Lalonde and Patrick White, members of OU Improv, will host the show, and will be “riffing” at the beginning of the event and in between each film. Both White and Lalonde will be watching the movies for the first time along with the audience.
“It will be a fun experience watching these films in the same wavelength as the rest of the audience,” said Lalonde, a senior studying video production. “It will be fun to see what comes from it and see it from the same frame as the audience.”
All submissions for the screening will be turned in on the day of the event between 6–6:30 p.m. Short films must be on DVD and must run no longer than eight minutes. Only the first 15 submissions will be selected, and they will be screened in the order in which they are submitted. The winner of the grand prize will be determined via “applause-o-meter,” or whichever film receives the loudest applause from the audience.
The open projector night will be a “trial-and-error run,” said Iacofano and Lalonde, to see what works and what doesn’t. If the show goes well, it will be an annual event that could continue again as soon as next semester.
Lalonde and White were chosen to host it after a suggestion by Chelsea Kardos, a member of OU Improv and an employee at the Athena Cinema.
“We want to be surprised as much as the audience and just have fun with it,” Iacofano said. “Comedy has become a big part of independent filmmaking, and we realize that there are so many talented people here in Athens that deserve to be celebrated.”
wa054010@ohiou.edu
If You Go
What: Open Projector Night
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Athena Cinema
Admission: Free
