The first full-length documentary in a planned series “that aims to celebrate the creative class in the Classic City,” Athens Rising: The Sicyon Project chronicles Athens’ multifaceted arts and music scenes, with an additional focus on dance, food, comedy, theater, festival culture and more.
The doc, which premiered during this year’s AthFest Music and Arts Festival, is the brainchild of filmmaker James Preston, who is planning a series of late-summer and fall showings of the film, with the next two happening Saturday, Aug. 11 at the 40 Watt Club and Wednesday, Aug. 22 at The Foundry. (Tickets are available at athensrising.com.) To coincide with the screenings, we’ll be posting a few video segments over the next several weeks.
This week’s installment focuses on Athens’ food scene, with a spotlight on Heirloom Cafe executive chef Garrett Macfalda. The clip also features a performance from local tango specialists Athens Tango Project.
“I have to say that picking a subject for food was difficult, as there is so much going on in this city, but I wanted to stick with the general vibe of the film, which was upstarts rather than legacy folks,” says Preston. “Garrett is incredibly thoughtful and intentional about the work he does, how it connects with and strengthens community, the way he runs his kitchen and how his work can be used for good.
“[Athens Tango Project’s] Laura [Camacho] is a prime example of an Athenian we should be screaming about from the rooftops,” Preston continues. “She saw this project early on and dove in head first, because she knew that she could make it better—and because she wanted Latin music to be represented in a film about her city.”
Check out the clip below:
Athens Tango Project plays Hendershot’s Coffee Bar on Friday, Aug. 31, where they’ll play tango covers of local classics by Pylon, R.E.M., Neutral Milk Hotel and more. Look for more on that show in that week’s Flagpole.
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