Ciné Ups Length of Annual Environmental Film Fest

By Andrei Mihailovic

Locals outside of Ciné on Oct. 8, possibly waiting for the 5:30 p.m. showing of Milking The Rhino.


Ciné counted on the environmental films and shorts of the second annual EcoFocus Film Festival as a revenue source throughout October. The four-week festival was a far cry from the weekend-long event that took place last year. Organizers of the festival, which ran from Oct. 2 to Oct. 30, intended to draw all film lovers.

“I just want to let people know the films are entertaining,” Junior Grady fellow Angelica Gentile said, sitting at a table in the reception area. She noted how refreshing and grown-up the environment was, lamenting that more Athens venues don’t offer that level of intimacy.

Gentile and Jamie Woodhead handled the advertising, marketing and public relations for EcoFocus. Director Sara Beresford selected them because they were two of the few applicants who did not flaunt their environmental consciousness.

Beresford, as part of her effort to attract a broader audience, did not want conservationists doing the marketing.

“My job was trying to figure out how to get people to come out without targeting the environmental group,” Gentile said.

The atmosphere spoke for itself on opening night. About 25 people were strewn about the Ciné lobby during the six o’clock cocktail hour, with a slide show projecting images of African villagers or fish heads onto a large screen in the background.

The crowd conversed in small groups. Aside from the lone gentleman clad in hemp, sporting a beret and waist-length ponytail, no one could be pegged as quintessentially green.

“Last year it did well among die-hards,” Woodhead said. “This year it’s yet to be seen, but we’re trying to mix it up.”

Gentile and Woodhead got started this summer. They surveyed people to find out what kind of impact words like “environmental” and “film fest” had.

“They think it’s for people who drive hybrids and eat granola,” Gentile said. “That if you show up, you’ll be intimidated.”

To curb this effect, Gentile and Woodhead made a promotional Facebook group. They also held an EcoFocus sponsored competition among dorms to reduce power and water use called the Green Cup, which ended with a showing of Recipes for Disaster on the lawn between Mell and Lipscomb on Sept. 22.

Special film screenings were organized as Blue Card events, and on opening night, they painted colorful promos on Sanford Street in front of the Tate Center.

EcoFocus organizers and Ciné managers would love to see these efforts pay off. But the mention of profit or business tactics seems taboo among many in the Earth-first crowd.

“Ciné’s been really good to us,” Gentile said, then explained the venue’s commitment to the festival is far from profit-based.

But the profitability of conservationism cannot be ignored. In fact, one of the featured films stresses the economic up-side of going green. So Right So Smart, which won Best Feature at Reel Earth New Zealand this year, highlights some of the major businesses making headway towards sustainability.

“We did Food Inc.; we have EcoFest; it’s not a statement or anything,” Ciné manager David Basham said when asked if the theatre was bent on embracing the environmental movement.

In the quiet lobby on Sunday, Basham said he really couldn’t answer any questions about how the festival was going.

Terry Bardagjy, a senior majoring in history and German, does not fancy herself an environmentalist but plans on supporting the festival.

“The owners are great about supporting local stuff that matters,” said Bardagjy. “Like showing Rocky Horror for non-profit.”

Bardagjy idled about the entrance and looked at some posters, then said this was a busy Thursday for her so she would come back later.