Most people’s go-to places for movies in Athens include the big name theaters that show Hollywood’s latest and greatest, but many do not realize that there is another theater in town that is setting a different tone to the film culture in this community.

It is called The Cine and it has been stealing the hearts of all eclectic film lovers of Athens since it’s opening in 2007.  The theater oranizers recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.

People who pop in for the first time are often amazed.

“When people come in, they say ‘Oh, I’ve been living here for 10 years and didn’t realize this place existed,” said Margaret McCallister, one of the managers of Cine. “It’s always kind of interesting to see older regulars, and the new people coming in who really start getting involved in this place.”

Cine is known for being different from the other Athens’ theaters like Beechwood and University 16, and the difference can easily be seen in some of their most recent films.

Whereas the latest of the Fast and Furious films, The Fate of the Furious, is taking over the box office across most blockbuster theaters, Cine recently featured award-winning Amelie, along with Audrie & Daisy, a documentary looking at the effects of sexual assault on survivors, friends, families, and communities in light of April being Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“We just show things that you can’t see anywhere else,” said Madeline Hassett, Cine’s communications specialist. “Sometimes our programming overlaps [with the other movie theaters in town], but it’s the nature of Cine as a community space that makes it so much more special.”

Cine loves to hold true to the unique films they show, but they still show films that can be seen at any other theatre, including the recently released, action-packed Free Fire, and The Circle, featuring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks.

The Cine community is now working to expand in what they do as they launched their campaign to buy the building at their 10th Birthday Bash on Thursday, April 20, 2017. With all of the community events they hold now, Cine will serve as more of a resource to its members once they officially own the building.

“With buying the building, we’ll be able to do more resource center stuff, and we can be more of place for the community,” said McCallister.

With help from their board and members, Cine plans to raise all the money to buy their space at the end of West Hancock Street within three years to better serve the art and film lovers of the Athens Community.

By Reann Huber