For many Athens residents, The Athena Cinema symbolizes local history and tradition. Opening in 1915, the first film shown was Mary Pickford’s “Cinderella” which cost 10 cents to attend.
Today, the Athena, located at 20 S. Court St., is still adopting new seasonal events that keep the public interested. In May 2023, the theater started its popular and now cherished rooftop movie screenings that keep the support for the cinema growing.
The rooftop movie screenings are held on top of the Athens City Parking Garage at 15 E. Washington St.
Alexandra Kamody, the Athena’s director, said the idea for the outdoor showings started from a crisis of needing to shut down their theaters.
“We had a sudden closure due to some structural stabilization that needed to be done at the theater, and we had already had tickets out and planned to do our ‘Cocktails and Classics’ series in the summer,” Kamody said.
Kamody and the cinema’s staff had to improvise because of the changes.
“We found out at the end of May (2023) that we had to close,“ Kamody said. "So we were thinking, ‘How can we still do the series?’”
These outdoor screenings usually run from May to October and tickets cost $8. This past summer, the movies were held about once a month due to the long hours from set up to clean up.
“(Last year) it was five Fridays, every Friday in June, and it almost killed us, it was just so much work for our little summer team to do that every Friday,” Kamody said. “So we decided this year, we can’t do that.”
Rooftop showings are all-day events for the Athena staff. Kamody said there can be anywhere from 10 to 25 employees working to put up the large inflatable projector and set up hundreds of chairs in the summer heat. The staff is responsible for all equipment normally in a movie theater to make the experience for guests as comfortable as possible.
“Whether we’re setting up 500 chairs or blowing up a giant inflatable screen, we just have to haul a lot of stuff back and forth,” Kamody said. “There’s the blower, the projector and the sound system, and then we bring all the concessions over so we have coolers and cash registers, so it’s a lot.”
As for the types of movies shown during these screenings, the genres and eras vary. The Athena Cinema shows different kinds of movies for everyone, including independent films, documentaries, classics and local movies that tend to stray away from mainstream Hollywood movies.
Daniel Schwartze, a senior studying media arts production, is the assistant manager and a projectionist at The Athena Cinema. He works in the concession stand at most of the outdoor screenings and sees the demographic of people who attend.
“Depending on the time period of the movie, like when it would have come out, I think it sometimes might have an appeal more to local people who are older, as opposed to students,” Schwartze said.
Schwatrze said the variety of attendees depends on the movie.
“If it’s more of a student event, like (when) we showed ‘Midsommar’ on top of the parking garage for Welcome Week, and last year was ‘Lady Bird,’ that had more students in attendance,” Schwartze said.
These events have been so popular and well-loved due to the uniqueness and nostalgia they bring. One of the traditions the theater has continued on the rooftop is its “Classics and Cocktails” series where memorable films from the past are paired with cocktails from West End Ciderhouse that match well with the film.
Janna Chimeli, associate professor of instruction in analytics and information systems, attended two rooftop screenings last summer and thoroughly enjoyed her experience.
“I like the community part of it, that you see friends over there, I like the nostalgic aspect of it, you see movies you saw when you were young, I like the cocktail part of it, because it’s a creativity as well,” Chimeli said.
These outdoor movies have brought the community together and fostered a connection between OU students and Athens locals.
“The Athena’s been here since 1915 (and) it’s been the heart of Court Street for a really long time,” Kamody said. “I think people get excited to come out and see their neighbors and their friends, and see the students and be uptown.”
For Chimeli, the experience of getting to meet people in the community and watch iconic films under the sunset is what made the rooftop showings positive for her.
“(My favorite part was) the novelty of being able to watch a movie, but also have the beautiful view of the sunset and being in the night sky, just that experience and watching with people,” Chimeli said.
With fall on the horizon, outdoor movie season is coming to a close, but that does not mean the Athena is done with their rooftop screenings. They are potentially putting in the works a Halloween-themed event, similar to one they did last year.
“It does sound like they are planning a Halloween showing, and last year was a double feature of ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘The Exorcist,’” Schwartze said.
The Athena Cinema represents long-standing history in Athens and the rooftop movies have provided positive experiences where all the staff’s hard work pays off.
“Getting to work with everybody, and just getting to see it all come together at the end of the night, when everybody shows up and we start the movie; it's a nice payoff at the end, just getting to see everybody enjoy themselves,” Schwartze said.
