After a two decade absence, the Athens Film Festival is getting a reboot.

With the University of Georgia's MFA film program in full swing and cameras still rolling on Athena Studios' first major studio production , Athens is well on its way to becoming a destination city in the vein of movie towns like Austin, Texas and Park City, Utah. In keeping with that momentum, an event that was ahead of its time more than 20 years ago has re-emerged under new management.

The newly-inaugurated Athens Film Festival is scheduled to take place Aug. 15 through Aug. 17, with screenings at Ciné, the Morton Theatre, Flicker Theatre & Bar and The Globe. Submissions opened in April 2023 via Film Freeway , an online hub where filmmakers can submit their work to festivals globally.

Though Athens Film Festival director Chuck Griffin told the Banner-Herald the majority of the films that will play this year's festival have already been selected, the window to submit films is open until June 25. There is no entry fee to enter the festival, and details can be found at filmfreeway.com/athensfilm .

It has been more than two decades since Athens had a yearly film festival. The original Athens Film Festival happened in 1997 under director Juanita Giles, and was renamed as the Kudzu Film Festival in 1998 following her departure. Todd Campbell and Nic Holt programmed Kudzu from 1998 to 2001.

For more information about the Athens Film Festival, visit athensfilm.com/submissions .

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This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: After a two decade absence, the Athens Film Festival is getting a reboot.