Just two weeks after New York City’s Climate March, the push for environmental awareness still lingers even in the town of Athens.
Since Sept.10, Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St., has been airing various films that carry an environmental message. The goal is for the audience to take away knowledge in ways to protect the planet.
The series is sponsored by the Arts and Sciences Sustainability Theme, Alden Library and Environmental Studies and Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.
“This year we are doing five (films) in the sustainability series,” said Alexandra Kamody, managing director at Athena Cinema. “Afterwards, there is usually a discussion to talk and react to the information the film has given.”
Each film has something noteworthy to contribute from an environmental standpoint.
“These films are bought by Alden Library along with the rights to show the films anywhere on campus for free,” said Lorraine Wochna, instruction coordinator at Alden Library. “Due to the nature of environmental, sustainable and ecological issues, there are so many films we have purchased. We care about all these issues as a library and do our best to be ‘green’ here as well.”
This week’s feature of Thin Ice, released in 2013, is a film showing how Simon Lamb, producer/director/photographer, trailed scientists into their research locations in the Arctic, Antarctic, New Zealand, Southern Ocean, Europe and United States for three years. With director David Sington, the goal was to show the public the lengths scientists go to understand the climate change happening on Earth because of human activity.
Thin Ice takes the personal interactions with these climate scientists and lets the audience into the world of what they do for a living, the research that they publish and if what they are saying is truly feasible. Lamb noted for the first time in his lifetime, scientists have been under attack for their research.
The Fall Sustainability Series, and specifically Thin Ice, targets these discrepancies and recognizes true research from scientists and take responsibility on what needs to be done for the planet.
The other films in the series include On Our Own Land and Ready for Harvest, two Appalshop shorts and Cafeteria Man, about chef Tony Geraci and his mission to reform Baltimore public school food systems.
The films are free of admission and will run every other Wednesday at the Athena Cinema.
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