Atrium School Film Festival
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who braved the cold on January 6 for the Atrium School Film Festival, featuring the works of Atrium alumni and alumni parents. The Film Festival was the first of three events commemorating Atrium's 35-year history.
Atrium alumni, faculty, parents and friends came together to view the works of four Atrium community members, celebrating themes we hold dear at Atrium: arts, self-discovery, activism, and social justice.
The Atrium community is proud and delighted to congratulate Rachel Morrison '90 on being the first woman ever nominated for an Oscar for cinematography for her work on MUDBOUND – an incredible achievement!
The Film Festival will be followed by two more anniversary events. Please join us!
Saturday, April 28, 2018: All Community Day of Service
Atrium School will be a part of this year’s Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) Earth Day Clean-up. This event is part of the 35th celebration and an opportunity for everyone to help with area clean-up of the Charles River.
Thursday, May 10, 2018: Community Art Show Opening
Atrium School will host a community Art Exhibition on May 10, 11 and 12, to celebrate the talented artists in our community. Alumni, alumni parents, current and past faculty and staff will all exhibit their work on campus in the Atrium space.
The Young Armenian by Noah Bartel '08, Filmmaker
11:00 a.m., 15 mins, unrated
The Young Armenian tells the story of a boy and his journey of personal faith while growing up in the Armenian Church. Filmmaker Noah Bartel grew up in Watertown, and the story of The Young Armenian is loosely based on his experience growing up in a town with strong ties to Armenia.
My Louisiana Love by Sharon Linezo Hong, P’20 and ’24, Director, Co-Producer, Co-Writer
11:30 p.m., 64 mins, unrated
My Louisiana Love follows a young Native American woman, Monique Verdin, as she returns to Southeast Louisiana to reunite with her Houma Indian family. But soon she sees that her people’s traditional way of life — fishing, trapping, and hunting these fragile wetlands — is threatened by a cycle of man-made environmental crises. As Louisiana is devastated by Hurricane Katrina and Rita and then the BP oil leak, Monique finds herself turning to environmental activism. She documents her family’s struggle to stay close to the land despite the cycle of disasters and the rapidly disappearing coastline. The film looks at the complex and uneven relationship between the oil industry and the indigenous community of the Mississippi Delta. In this intimate documentary portrait, Monique must overcome the loss of her house, her father, and her partner — and redefine the meaning of home. Her story is both unique and frighteningly familiar.
Lost in the Bewilderness by Alexandra Anthony, P’05, Filmmaker
1:00 p.m., 97 mins, unrated
Lost in the Bewilderness is a feature-length documentary about the filmmaker’s cousin Lucas, kidnapped at age five from his native Greece, and found on the eve of his sixteenth birthday in the U.S. This story of international parental abduction, filmed for over 25 years, chronicles Lucas’s journey of growth and self-discovery, and culminates with Lucas becoming a father himself. Lost in the Bewilderness is not only a detective story but also a lyrical meditation on childhood, lost and found, and an exploration of how the themes of ancient Greek myth and tragedy, with the family at their center, are still very much alive in the modern world.
MUDBOUND by Rachel Morrison '90, Cinematographer
3:00 p.m., 134 mins, rated R
Set in the rural American South during World War II, MUDBOUND is an epic story of two families pitted against one another by a ruthless social hierarchy, yet bound together by the shared farmland of the Mississippi Delta. Based on the 2008 bestseller by Hillary Jordan, MUDBOUND follows the McAllan family, newly transplanted from the quiet civility of Memphis and unprepared for the harsh demands of farming. Despite the grandiose dreams of Henry, his wife Laura struggles to keep the faith in her husband's losing venture. Meanwhile, Hap and Florence Jackson — sharecroppers who have worked the land for generations — struggle bravely to build a small dream of their own despite the rigidly enforced social barriers they face. The war upends both families' plans as their returning loved ones, Jamie McAllan and Ronsel Jackson, forge a fast but uneasy friendship that challenges the brutal realities of the Jim Crow South in which they live.