The ZigZag Kid
Jewish Films: The sixth annual Athens Jewish Film Festival, running Sunday, Mar. 16–Wednesday, Mar. 19 at Ciné, seeks to discuss and celebrate films of Jewish interest while encouraging emerging filmmakers through a program of newly released feature films, shorts and documentaries. The festival kicks off with an opening gala on Sunday, Mar. 16 at 1:30 p.m. at the Georgia Theatre. The gala includes a brunch provided by The Branded Butcher and Athens Bagel Company as well as a premiere of The ZigZag Kid, a family-friendly film about Nono, an over-imaginative, almost-13-year-old boy on the brink of his bar mitzvah who longs to be a good detective like his father. Other highlights include Numbered, a documentary about survivors who were tattooed in Auschwitz and its subcamps; The Consul of Bordeaux, a drama about Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who saved 30,000 lives during WWII; and The Jewish Cardinal, a narrative about Jean-Marie Lustiger, who maintained his cultural identity as a Jew after converting to Catholicism at a young age and joining the priesthood. For a full list of movies and screening times, see athensjff.org.
Women’s History Films: The UGA Institute for Women’s Studies celebrates Women’s History Month with a film series highlighting the accomplishments of female activists. A Crushing Love: Chicanas, Motherhood and Activism, screening on Monday, Mar. 17, explores the lives of five Latinas who succeeded in effecting broad-based social change as single mothers. Sisters of ’77, set for Monday, Mar. 24, offers a window into history, detailing the first federally funded National Women’s Conference of 1977. Rough Aunties, screening on Monday, Mar. 31, takes a look at a fearless group of women with unwavering dedication toward protecting abused children in Durban, South Africa. The free Monday series screens at 6:30 p.m. in room 214 of the Miller Learning Center.
Italian Films: The UGA Department of Romance Language‘s sixth annual Cinecittá is currently underway, this year presenting films that address resistance, insurgency and terrorism under the clash of competing ideologies. Piazza Fontana: the Italian Conspiracy, screening on Tuesday, Mar. 18, centers on the Piazza Fontana bombing in Milan in 1969. The Escort, set for Tuesday, Mar. 25, follows the attempts of a judge to clean up a Sicilian town despite corrupt local politicians working hand-in-hand with the Mafia. Both films will be screened at 7 p.m. in room 248 of the Miller Learning Center and are free to the public.
Ecological Films: The sixth annual EcoFocus Film Festival, scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 19–Saturday, Mar. 29, presents over two dozen films, along with speakers and panel discussions, intended to inform and inspire viewers about environmental issues such as climate change, genetically-modified foods, urban agriculture and sustainability. Highlights include Tiny: A Story About Living Small, detailing the trend of designing downsized homes; The Human Experiment, investigating the presence of untested chemicals in everyday products; More Than Honey, analyzing why bees are facing extinction worldwide; and The Ghosts in Our Machine, illuminating the lives of animals living within or rescued from the food, fashion, entertainment and research industries. The festival is centered at Ciné, with additional events taking place at the UGA Odum School of Ecology and Miller Learning Center. Admission is free for UGA students. For a complete schedule of daily events and screenings, see ecofocusfilmfest.org.
Political Films: The Georgia Museum of Art is presenting four films in conjunction with “Art Interrupted: Advancing American Art and the Politics of Cultural Diplomacy.” Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious, showing on Thursday, Mar. 20, is a love story between the American daughter of a Nazi spy and a U.S. agent who hires her for an espionage mission. In the humorous rom-com Nintochka, set for Thursday, Mar. 27, a Russian woman falls for a Parisian who represents the decadence she is trained to detest. Other selections include film noir The Stranger on Thursday, Apr. 3, which was directed by and stars Orson Welles as an escaped Nazi war criminal, and Cradle Will Rock on Thursday, Apr. 10, a fictionalized account of Welles’ 1937 musical that exemplifies the role of art and power in the 1930s. All films will be shown free of charge in the museum’s auditorium at 7 p.m.
Experimental Films: The Slingshot Festival, bringing international music, art and tech talks to downtown Wednesday, Mar. 19–Saturday, Mar. 22, will offer a showcase of experimental films at the Morton Theatre on Friday, Mar. 21 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The program includes shorts by Santiago Parres (EZO), Tamara LAI, Jean-Michael Rolland, Alexander Isaenko, Anthony Stephenson, Matteo Pasin, APOTROPIA and Cristina Pavesi.
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