Atlanta's Historic Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University Announces the Be Downtown Film Festival
June 28,2017
Press Contact:
Darlene Hamilton, Assistant Director
Marketing & Communications
404-413-9822, dhamilton14@gsu.edu
ATLANTA’S HISTORIC RIALTO CENTER FOR THE ARTS AT GEORGIA STATE ANNOUNCES THE BE DOWNTOWN FILM FESTIVAL
The Atlanta Film Society Teams up with the Rialto for A Special Afternoon of Film Screenings!
ATLANTA (June 26, 2017) – The Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University and partners, the Atlanta Film Society and Central Atlanta Progress, are pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Be Downtown Film Festival on Saturday, July 22, 2017. The festival kicks off with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and continues through the evening with two Star Wars classics:
3:00 PM - Walt Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise.
(1991) Animated musical romantic fantasy drama will be shown in 35mm on the Rialto’s big screen. Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and was the winner of the 1991 Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for its title song. View Trailer: https://youtu.be/Qp4WLIZLsTw
5:00 PM - STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - directed by J.J. Abrams
The direct sequel to 1983's Return of the Jedi, the 2015 American epic space opera film The Force Awakens is the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and Lupita Nyong'o. View Trailer: https://youtu.be/sGbxmsDFVnE
7:30 PM – ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY - directed by Gareth Edwards
This 2016 American epic space opera film is the first installment of the Star Wars Anthology series, set immediately before the events of the original Star Wars film, which follows a group of rebels on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's superweapon. View Trailer: https://youtu.be/frdj1zb9sMY.
All tickets are $5 per film and are on sale now, online at rialto.gsu.edu and at the Rialto Box Office, 404-413-9849. A portion of the proceeds go to benefit the Rialto2Go program.
The Rialto continues its celebration of 100 years in the original theater district of Atlanta, at the corner of Forsyth and Luckie. Evolving from a 925-seat vaudeville theater, to the Southeast's largest movie house, to what it is today – a world class, performing arts center, the Rialto remains the place in downtown Atlanta that enriches audiences of all ages and backgrounds. While the theater has seen many changes in the past century, one of the biggest came 20 years ago, when the Rialto reintroduced itself to the city in 1996 as The Rialto Center for the Arts, following its acquisition by Georgia State University (GSU). The Be Downtown Film Festival will once again pay homage to the Rialto’s roots as a movie theater screening films as they were meant to be seen with the 2nd Annual Be Downtown Film Festival, where families, students, and fun-loving adults of all ages can enjoy some beauty and beastly fun, and a galaxy far, far away all in one day!
About the Rialto Center for the Arts
This season the Rialto continues celebrating two major milestones: 100 years as an anchor for the arts in downtown Atlanta, and 20 years as the performing arts center at Georgia State University!
The Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University is the cultural centerpiece of downtown, located in the heart of Atlanta’s historic Fairlie-Poplar district. Our mission is to inspire, educate and entertain diverse audiences by presenting innovative and exceptional arts programming and cultivating community partnerships.
Our intimate, 833-seat performing arts venue is home to the Rialto Series, featuring the best of national and international jazz, world music and dance; Georgia State’s School of Music performances; and serves as the downtown go-to venue for other arts organizations’ performances, visiting companies and independent film screenings.
Each year, the Rialto Center presents the Rialto Series – a unique subscription series featuring world-class artists presenting an eclectic mix of world music, jazz, contemporary dance, and international programs, as well as media arts. In addition, the Rialto offers innovative educational programs to students and the general public. The Rialto is proud of its fast-growing reputation as the arts center that brings once-in-a-lifetime cultural experiences to the southeast and challenges patrons to expand their artistic worldview.
The Rialto is equally proud to celebrate 20 years as part of Georgia State University this season. Georgia State is located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, and is a leading research institution of higher learning, ranked among the top 14 “up and coming” national universities and 12th among the country’s most diverse institutions. More than 54,000 students are enrolled annually, arriving from every county in Georgia, all 50 states and 159 countries.
The Rialto continues to build its reputation as the place where Atlanta meets the world through its one-of-a-kind international programming, bringing together diverse communities and creating conversations about culture, art, and history in the process. For more information about the Rialto, visit rialto.gsu.edu.
About Rialto2Go:
Rialto2Go is one of the Rialto’s education outreach programs that takes art and culture beyond the walls of the Rialto Center and into public elementary schools, particularly in fragile, under-served communities. The Rialto2Go program is helping students learn about different cultures while building long-term relationships with the arts. Rialto2Go is led by teaching artists who engage students at local schools through lectures, workshops and performances that are reinforced by hands-on activities.
About the Atlanta Film Society
The Atlanta Film Society is one of the largest organizations dedicated to the promotion and education of film in the Southeastern United States. Enriching the community through screenings, classes, workshops and other events year-round, including the Atlanta Film Society’s flagship program, the Atlanta Film Festival. One of only two dozen Academy Award-qualifying events in the country, the Atlanta Film Festival annually showcases over 200 films along with a full Creative Conference focusing on various filmmaking topics to over 27,000 attendees across a ten day event each spring. The Atlanta Film Festival was recently named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festival in the World” and one of “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine. Major funding for the Atlanta Film Society is provided by Turner, XFINITY, MailChimp, HBO, SPANX and the Sara Blakely Foundation.
For more information on the Be Downtown Film Festival, visit www.atlantafilmsociety.org/bedowntown
For more information about the Atlanta Film Society, visit www.atlantafilmsociety.org
Stay connected with the Atlanta Film Society on social media: @AtlFilmSociety, #ATLFS For more information about the Rialto Center for the Arts, visit www.rialto.gsu.edu
About Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District
Central Atlanta Progress, Inc., is a Downtown business association with approximately 200 members. Its mission is to build a vibrant community with strong leadership and sustainable infrastructure that is safe, livable, diverse, economically viable, accessible, clean, hospitable and entertaining. The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable corporation created by CAP to make Downtown safer, cleaner and more hospitable.
For more information about Central Atlanta Progress, visit www.atlantadowntown.com
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