[Graphic courtesy of Athens International Film + Video Festival]

By Kate Wiselogel, Contributor and Julia Weber, Editorial Director

April showers are here, which means it’s time for the annual Athens Film + Video Festival!

The 52nd Annual Athens International Film + Video Festival begins on Monday, April 7 and lasts through Sunday, April 13. The festival, founded in 1973, will feature more than 200 films from 58 different countries, according to AIFVF. 20 of the showcased films are feature length with a variety of short films also screening. The festival is located at the historic Athena Cinema and free student tickets are available day-of at the box office.  

The festival is one of 100 Academy-qualified festivals for short narrative and short animated films. That means that short films shown at the festival are some of the best in the world. Professor David Colagiovanni, director of the festival, says that the short films shown at the festival are among “a lot of the short films that are being shown at Cannes, Berlin, Sundance [and] South by Southwest.” This makes AIFVF “a pretty unique place to see work being made around the world.”   

Among the various short films and feature films being screened, the festival will feature special screenings with Kelly Gallagher, Dani Wasserman and Lilli Carré.  

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Kelly Gallagher is a filmmaker and Associate Professor of Film at Syracuse University. Gallagher’s screening, Monday, April 7 at 7:15 p.m., will feature eight original short films. Gallagher’s work is described by AIFVF as a “collaged and glitter-infused vision of resistance.” 

Dani Wasserman is a native of Athens and is currently based in Pittsburgh. Wasserman graduated with a degree in Media Studies from Ohio University in 2021. According to Colagiovanni,  Wasserman helped create some of the films they’re presenting while attending Ohio University. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m., Wasserman will showcase 10 original short films that explore “themes of bodies, queerness and memory.”  

The final special screening of the festival will feature the works of Lilli Carré. Wednesday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m., the Los Angeles-based filmmaker will be presenting 11 of her short films. Carré is an “experimental animator” whose work “blurs the line between reality and imagination with her anthropomorphic creations.” In the past, Carré has participated in shows at the Chicago Contemporary Art Museum and is a Guggenheim Fellow, according to Colagiovanni.  

The festival will also highlight the local film industry. Originally founded by grad students in Ohio University’s School of Film, 90 current Ohio University students worked on this year’s festival, according to Colagiovanni. Moreover, this year’s festival will also feature “Our Ohio,” a showcase of short films made by local high school students, and will be shown on Sunday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. “Oh-Hi-O,” a showcase of short films made by college students from across Ohio, will be shown on Saturday, April 12 at 9:30 p.m.   

The Athens International Film + Video Festival is a unique opportunity to see a vast variety of films that are local and international. “You would be hard pressed to see [these films] anywhere else,” according to Colagiovanni. Make sure to go see exciting new feature length and short films from April 7 to 13.Additional information and the full schedule for the festival can be found on its official website.