Join the Athens Historical Society at 5:00pm on July 17 at Ciné in downtown Athens for a FREE showing of a series of short films! 

At 5pm on Wednesday, July 17th at Ciné, the Athens Historical Society will host a viewing and discussion of its first films on Athens History.

The Athens Film Project is launching the first three of its very short films–just 5-7 minutes each–at Ciné’s Lab at 5pm on Wednesday, July 17. A project of the Athens Historical Society that began during the early days of the pandemic, the Film Project’s goal is to create films on Athens history for local 11th grade U.S. History classes.

Executive producer, Cindy Hahamovitch, says the idea was to make history meaningful by making it local. “We started with the standards–the facts and concepts–Georgia teachers have to teach and looked for local stories to illuminate them. So, teachers teaching about the Industrial Revolution could say, ‘Did you know that Athens was an early and important part of the Industrial Revolution?’ and then pop in our 6-minute film.”

The first films to be completed are  “Emancipation” by Grady School graduate film student Emani Saucier and “the Knox Institute,” Athen’s famous Freedmen’s Bureau School, by local resident Jesse Freeman. Georgia Film Academy instructor Phil Bergquist is putting the finishing touches on Industrial Athens I, which chronicles the history of the textile industry in Athens through the Civil War. A film on the history of Athens industry after the war is in the works, as are films on the founding of Athens, Reconstruction, and the Cold War. Future topics include slavery, the Civil War, and the New Deal.

Jane McPherson, a UGA Social Work professor and one of three Film Committee founders, says “the Film Project has been a true town and gown collaboration.” Three members of the Film Committee are UGA faculty, but it includes community members, local high school teachers, the Social Studies Coordinator for the ACC school system, and the Archives and Special Collections Coordinator for the Athens Regional Library System. Peggy Galis, who came up with the idea of making short films on Athens history for local classrooms, has raised over $100,000 from local supporters, including the Langdale Foundation, Margaret Smith, Grady Thrasher, and Kathy Prescott. Grants from Georgia Humanities and the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia helped jumpstart the project. UGA’s History Department help fund the graduate student fellows who research and write the treatments and help to secure images and permission to use them.

History students at Cedar Shoals High School vetted the first two films and gave their stamp of approval. After watching the film on Emancipation by Emani Saucier, the first word out of one student’s mouth was “amazing.” “There was general agreement that the film was excellent,” recalled teacher Montu Miller. Students particularly liked the images, and “the…local stories…they hadn’t heard of before….” Their complaint about the film on the Knox School by Jesse Freeman was that it was too short! Student and teacher consultants will soon give feedback on the rough cut of Industrial Athens Part I.

Researcher and script writer Bryant Barnes, a PhD student in History at UGA, said, “I loved history when I was growing up, but it always seemed like it was happening somewhere else, somewhere more exciting or important. As I researched the stories for these films, Athens came to life. Street names, old buildings, and scenic views took on new meaning and significance.”

The launch event will screen the three short films after which a panel of Film Project members and filmmakers will take questions about the films and the process. Food and beverages will be available. The event is open to the public though seating is limited.

For information, contact Nellie Brunson, AHS board member, at  athenshistorical@gmail.com.