Letter From the Director

At the request and heartfelt encouragement of so many wonderful members of our Athens audience, what began as the Opening Night Remarks at the 2025 Athens Film Festival has been adapted into this Letter from the Director.

Filmmaking is roughly 129 years old. When you consider other mediums of art and expression like painting, sculpting, music, and writing—each with a history spanning thousands, or even tens of thousands of years—you realize just how young film truly is. In the grand timeline of human creativity, one might say that filmmaking has only just begun.

Technically this is true, but sadly in another sense, that’s not the case. 

And it’s not at all because of a lack of creativity or the desire to create art. It’s because as a whole, we’ve migrated into these digital bubbles, where stories are consumed in isolation. I'd say over the past 15 years, we’ve gradually traded a bigger, shared screen for a smaller one.

If you want to get dramatic, you could argue that the audience is becoming an endangered species. 

Now I say all of this not to bum anyone out—because if the audience is an endangered species, I need all our visitors, even the ones from Atlanta, to understand that Athens is a sanctuary.

I’ve said this before, but beneath everything Athens is known for around the world, we’re actually not an arts town. We’re not a university town, not a music town—we’re not even a football town. We’re an audience town. In my opinion, Athens is home to one of the greatest—if not the greatest—audience cultures in the world.

Our love for the arts, our support for creators, and our desire to show up—whether it’s for a concert, a film screening, or a festival—is what sets us far apart. That’s why cities like Atlanta, Austin, Texas, even New York City, look to Athens—and it’s audience—as the older sibling, the big sister of arts and culture. People there have even admitted to me, no one does it like Athens.

I should also mention that we are a festival town. Now this is a film festival, and when it comes to film festivals, Cannes may be the pinnacle of glamour and prestige, South by Southwest may be the marketplace for ideas and industry, and Sundance may be the heart of independence—but Athens is ground zero for the audience. And what could be more sacred to a filmmaker than an audience?

Here, if you have the heart for it, you don’t have to fight for the audience, you don’t have to make as much noise as the artists in other cities do. Because here, the audience is automatic. So Welcome to Athens.

I want to thank some of our incredible sponsors—Satisfactory Printing, Flagpole, Leslie Jones Law, Creature Comforts, Taco Mama, ATHICA, The Athens Film Office, The Athenian Hotel, Visit Athens, Agora Vintage, Thunderfoot Studios, Patrick Crawford Real Estate, Purple Magnet Productions, and the Rock Lobsters and Nuçi's Space. The Rock Lobsters and Nuçi's Space sponsored us simply because there are a couple of films whose stories truly resonated with them. That was something special we got to witness unfold.

 I want to thank the members of our non-profit, The Automatic Film Society, who helped cover the cost of submission fees for over 3,500 film submissions this year, from over 60 countries. 

I want to thank Mayor Kelly Girtz, David Bradley and the Athens Chamber of Commerce, and the Athens Downtown Development Authority.

I said this is a festival town, so I want to give a special thanks to the incredible people behind so many legendary events in our city: Peter Norris at Athefest, Owen Hunt from Athens Comedy Fest, Timi Conley from the Wild Rumpus, and all the other special events that sit at the big kids table and look after one another. Thank yall for not only serving Athens, but preserving its audience.

The incredible students at the Athens Career academy, the amazing student journalists at the Odyssey Newsmagazine, led by my former teacher, my friend and mentor, David Ragsdale. The Red Carpet on Opening Night wouldn't have been the same without the passionate media students at the high schools and the youth in this community.

Our amazing jury this year: Neil Landau, Kelsey Schmitt, Xavier Brown, Jayson Warner Smith, Dugan Bridges, and Mya Breyana Morton. Our projectionists at the different venues: Joe Bagwell, Jonathon Streetman, Levi Slaboda, and Daniel Martin.

Thank you to all our volunteers—without their generosity, and not only their love of film but also their love for this community and its audience—none of this would be possible.

Our Board of Directors—John Carter, Kidd Fielteau, and Lauren Musgrove—thank you for having my back and sacrificing your time for the love of film.

Thank you also to our incredible Screening Committee: Maggie Brown, Joe Bagwell, Lee Ann Peppers, Jon Dawson, Haihong Lee, and Micah Hudson.

Our incredible interns: Blaire Mars, Tyler Tran, lucas Nyman, Aidan Kramer.

A thank-you to our incredible staff: Maryclaire Andres, Tamika Woodard, Patrick Crawford, Lauren Musgrove, and my wife and our producer, Allison Griffin. Allison, I say this as both your husband and your work buddy—you are the poster child for unsung heroes. Maybe that will change.

And finally, I want to give my thanks to our presenting sponsor, Ciné. This festival is powered by the audience. But I want Ciné to know that the audience needs you. Thank you for opening your doors for us, for your support, for trusting us with a catalogue of world class international films.

And to the audience, go support Ciné and donate.

Sincerely,

Chuck Griffin

Executive Director, Athens Film Festival