January Cinematheque

The monthly Cinematheque series begins Friday featuring films on the theme "Bright Lights: Five Visions of Urban Living."

Each film takes place in a different city around the world and structures the story around the unique characteristics of that city, said Cinematheque program manager Chris Iacofano.

"So in a way the city is the main character in these films," said Iacofano, who is also the general manager of the Athena Cinema where the Cinematheque series is shown.

The film series is sponsored by the Arts for Ohio initiative and aims to expose the Ohio University and Athens communities to a variety of classics, documentaries and international titles.

"We try to select films for Cinematheque that will lead to discussion, either in the classroom or amongst friends," Iacofano said. "I hope that these are films that will inspire, anger or in some way move the audience. For the two hours or so that you are in a Cinematheque screening, you are in the only theater in the world playing that particular film on that particular week and oftentimes these are the very films that inspired today's contemporary directors."

This month's films are "Mala Noche," "Jubilee," "Black Orpheus," "Memories of Underdevelopment" and "The Last Metro."

Cinematheque films are free for students with a valid ID, including local high school students and those visiting from other universities. Ohio University employees and community members pay $4 per film. Visit www.finearts.ohio.edu/artsforohio/cinematheque.htm for more information.

Second-year Film Screenings

Film graduate student Satish More can't wait for audiences to give him their take on his latest work, a short piece he calls "Open." It's been two years in the making.
His film is one of 10 that will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Sunday at the Athena Cinema on Court Street. The short films, completed during the students' second year of study in the School of Film, range from nine to 38 minutes.

"These screenings are a personification of the sheer long-term collaborative effort that goes into making a film," More said.

More's 32-minute film tells the story of Jack Donahue, a man in his 40s living in New York City whose life takes a dramatic turn when he begins to notice how simple things can have a huge impact.

More conceived the idea for his film in 2006. After seven drafts and help from fellow students and faculty, he started production in November 2007. He will complete the final touches just in time for the film's Sunday premiere.

"Filmmakers, like all artists, can be closed in their mental domains when making films," More said. "Film being a collaborative art, allows for suggestions and critique by the crew and cast during the making, but there still has to be critical feedback from all kinds of people for a director to actually mature as a filmmaker."