The showing of a short film series this evening at the Holland Theatre is a cause for celebration on several fronts — one for the theater as it reopens following its six-month closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also for several local individuals who are featured in one of the three films playing this evening during National Recovery Month.
Theater-goers are invited to the event at 7 p.m. tonight, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., to feature the films created by Brooklyn-based filmmaker Adam Meeks, a Columbus native with family ties in the Union and Logan county areas.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youths and are available online and at the door.
The films are recommended for ages 14 and up.
Tickets are sold in groups of two and four, and also individually, to ensure that best practices for social distancing can be maintained, Holland Theatre Managing Director Chris Westhoff said.
Meeks said his film Union County, a story of recovery, was filmed in both Logan and Union counties last year featuring residents from both counties, including Annette Deao, Logan County Family Court Treatment and Program Director, and several people involved in the recovery court. The Logan County Courthouse also is featured as a centerpiece in the film.
The film depicts a young man in rural Ohio navigating a drug court recovery program and the return of his ex-girlfriend and is filmed in a “hybrid” form, incorporating scripted and non-fiction portions, Meeks said
Union County had its world premiere at the 2020 Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival), and also was featured at Champs-Elysees Film Festival in Paris; and earlier this year before the pandemic hit, it was shown at regional festivals in the U.S. and Canada, including in Palm Springs and in Maryland.
Monday, the Logan County Treatment Court also hosted a Recovery Month Celebration at the theater where the film was shown, and Westhoff had the chance to see the piece at that time.
“I found it to be a beautiful and reflective film,” he said. “It depicts that unspoken aspect about recovery, where the hard part is not just getting clean, but changing your community of people — those who you were with when you were using.”
In addition, two of Meeks’ other films, Wildfire and Furlong, will be shown this evening. The filmmaker will host an introduction for his pieces, and then a question and answer session following the films.
At the theater during the event, attendees are asked to wear face coverings while entering and in common areas, but are permitted to remove their face coverings while at their seats, the theater director said.
Capacity for the Holland Theatre is currently restricted by state regulations at 15 percent — or approximately 90 seats — in comparison to its typical full seating capacity of 604, Westhoff said.
As the theater reopens, representatives will be working closely with local health officials to apply for a variance to be able to host a slightly higher capacity in the large space, while still abiding by distancing regulations between family groups.
“We’re all gearing up in the right direction to be able to be open on a more regular basis,” the theater director said.