It goes without saying that Athens is a big music town. Its reputation is prodigious and has been long lasting over the decades despite varied musical trends. Our fair city and region, however, have also been bursting with creative filmmaking talent over the last few years, as national television and feature film productions have zeroed in on the state to utilize our diverse locales and local flavor to accent their creations. Athens also has plenty of homegrown talent—James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now), Mark Jarrett (The Taiwan Oyster) and the Gonzoriffic horror film collective, to mention just a few—working in the industry. Some of our filmmakers have chosen to stay here to live while making their mark, or they've based their productions here while they've entered the fray of the larger filmmaking marketplace. We're not Hollywood or Vancouver yet, but Georgia is well on its way to becoming a place hospitable to filmmakers of all stripes.

For sophisticated moviegoers here in town, the choices are more limited than in bigger cities. But moviegoers looking for an alternative to the latest comic book spectacular or dumbed-down comedy do have a choice: Ciné. Art house and retrospective theaters around the country can still be found in the ever-changing landscape of modern movie watching, but it's been tough. Hollywood's rapid and questionable plunge into digital domination has cut plenty of heads in the process toward adaptation. If a small, independent theater cannot pony up the money to make the transition from celluloid film to digital projection (a studio demand to survive), then they simply have to dim the box office marquee and call it a day. In the process, independent filmmakers lose yet another way to reach a larger audience and patrons are robbed from seeing movies they otherwise might miss when left to the uncurated boggle of a Netflix queue. 

Ciné, which is a nonprofit cinema, is making the leap into digital projection to survive, but that transition comes with a hefty price tag. Anyone who has seen the recent documentary Side by Side (reviewed in Flagpole Aug. 29, 2012) knows the complexity of the situation. One way the theater is trying to raise awareness and money is by putting on a show, a music benefit to be exact, and not your run-of-the-mill one, either.

The theater will host Songs @ Ciné on Friday, Mar. 29, a musical showcase featuring a rare solo performance from ex-R.E.M. bassist and songwriter Mike Mills. In fact, this may be the only time Mills has performed in Athens on his own, unless you know something that plenty of knowledgeable Classic City residents don't know or remember. The event isn't just featuring Mills, although that would notable enough. Joining the Nudie suit-wearing Mills will be locals Don Chambers (GOAT), Dave Marr (The Star Room Boys), Hardy Morris (Dead Confederate) and Thayer Sarrano. A formidable group of musical raconteurs, to say the least. The event is described as a "song swap," with the five musicians singing on their own and then playing together. A reception for Ciné will be held at 7 p.m., and the music will begin at 8:30 p.m. It's sure to be a memorable night for music and film lovers, although there is a big hitch. The event is already sold out. Any unclaimed advanced ticket, however, will be offered for sale at the Ciné box office at 8:15 p.m., so if you're hankering to go, make sure to be ready. 

The event is being presented by the Willson Center for the Humanities and Arts, Thinc. at UGA Entrepreneurial Week and Ciné. All proceeds will go to help the theater make the digital leap and ensure that our local art house cinema continues to show the more idiosyncratic and interesting big studio offerings, as well as quality under-the-radar independent features that frequently get shoved aside in the bullying commercial film marketplace. Money raised from the event will also keep Ciné equipped to continue to show 35mm film prints for special events and retrospectives, something that will become a rare treat for any cinephile. 

WHAT: Songs @ Ciné w/Mike Mills, Dave Marr, Thayer Sarrano, Don Chambers, Hardy Morris

WHERE: Ciné

WHEN: Friday, March 29, 7 p.m.

HOW MUCH: SOLD OUT! ($35)