Lineup for second annual Robert Osborne film festival is announced Robert Osborne has selected eight films for his second annual Robert Osborne’s Classic Film Festival, scheduled for March 23-26 at the Classic Center. Passes for the festival and tickets for individual films are now available at the Classic Center box office, online at www.classiccenter.com or by calling (800) 918-6393. A pass to all films and panel discussions is $60 ( $45 for students with valid identification). The selected films “represent the breadth and variety of Hollywood, independent, and international classic cinema from the 1930s to the 2000s,” according to Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies and columnist for the Hollywood Reporter. The movies in Athens’s second celebratory festival are: Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, Carol Reed’s The Third Man, Blake Edward’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, Christopher Guest’s Best in Show and, as the special Sunday matinee on March 26, the restored archival print of Gone With the Wind. Nate Kohn, festival director and associate professor of telecommunications in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, is thrilled by the list. “Robert is the world’s foremost authority on the Academy Awards, and he worked hard to put together this dynamic program,” Kohn says. “Robert’s commitment to the success of our festival is something we’re very proud of.” The inaugural Osborne Festival, which took place last January, brought guests Jane Powell, Louise Fletcher, Maximilian Schell, Pia Lindstrom and Rory Flynn to Athens to discuss their films with Osborne on stage following the screenings. Kohn expects the upcoming festival to feature guests of similar stature. For the March event, the 2,000-seat Classic Center theater will be transformed into a world-class movie palace with a 60-foot motion picture screen (six feet wider than last year’s) and state-of-the-art projection and sound systems. Most screenings will show archival 35 mm prints from Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and the British Film Institute. “It’s an exciting adventure to see these films the way they were meant to be seen,” says Osborne, who also plans to include original trailers and cartoons so attendees can have the complete movie experience. “The big screen gives a different dimension and vitality to them.” In addition, the festival features panel discussions hosted by Osborne. Panelists include UGA scholars, festival guests, artists, critics and others. Topics will relate to the festival’s films and their various influences. These panel discussions are free and open to the public. All films, with the exception of the March 25 matinee, Raiders of the Lost Ark, require a ticket for admission. The matinee is open to the public. —Diane Murray

Art exhibitions.
Works from the Permanent Collection. Through March 19. Sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.
In conjunction with the third Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, the Georgia Museum of Arts presents a themed display of objects. Oil paintings by George Cooke and George Henry Hall represent some of the regional character of American mid-19th-century art.

Lost Works from Within the Burning Ring of Fire, an exhibition of painted works by Athens-based artist Jonathan Jacquet. Through Jan. 20. Tate Student Center Gallery. 542-6396.

Gini Knight: Botanical Collections from Costa Rica. Thorough Feb. 5. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden of Georgia. 542-6130.

American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow. Through Feb. 19. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

This comprehensive exhibition in its first U.S. venue addresses the scope and impact of this style, whose particularly voluptuous modernity of sleek speed lines and parabolic curves swept middle-class America in the 1930s and remains to this day shorthand for glamour and the promise of the world of tomorrow.

American Streamlined Design offers a fresh appraisal of the aesthetic of streamlined design, placing the achievements of its best-known exponents—among them Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, Raymond Loewy and Walter Dorwin Teague—squarely alongside the contributions of other lesser-known but significant designers such as Lurelle Guild, Clifford Brooks Stevens, Harold Van Doren, and newly discovered practitioners like John R. Morgan, William B. Petzold and Louis Vavrik.

From Sideboard to Pulpit: Silver in Georgia. Through March 26. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

Silver, a luxury material, has throughout its history symbolized wealth. The acquisition and display of silver items in Georgia, whether in frontier towns or culturally rich cities, has expressed the desires of Georgians to attain and convey success.

This exhibition highlights numerous previously undocumented examples of silver retailed or made in Georgia, including a silver neoclassical pitcher recently acquired by the museum, marked by Baldwin Gardiner of New York and inscripted to Rev. Samuel K. Talmage from his congregation in Augusta in 1836.

The exhibition features holloware and flatware from the museum’s permanent collection as well as loans from several private and public collections.

Exhibit.
“Power to the People—Rural Electrification in Georgia.” Through Sept. 30. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Russell Library. Additional hours: Saturdays 1-4:45 p.m. Sponsored by the Russell Library and UGA Libraries.

The changes that rural electrification made in the lives of Georgians is the subject of a large-scale exhibit at UGA’s Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

“Power to the People! Rural Electrification in Georgia” includes photographs, letters, diaries and speeches, along with examples of early electric household appliances, farm equipment and one of the first utility poles set by Jackson EMC with the Rural Electrification Administration emblem attached.

“Rural electrification, like the highway system, telephones and now the Internet is so important, so integral to who we are and what we do that we take it for granted,” says Jill Severn, exhibit curator. “But, for those who lived without electricity, the day the lights came on is a milestone right up there with birth, death and marriage. Recent hurricanes on the Gulf Coast have reminded us how much we actually do depend on electricity and other basic services.”

The Russell Library develops exhibits that complement its collection strengths, and REA and rural development appear frequently in many of the Russell’s collections. Also, the library’s namesake served as the U.S. Senate floor leader for the act that authorized the REA and was a lifelong supporter of the program. This strong level of documentation for rural electrification and rural development in general provided a strong foundation for the exhibit’s content.

To build on these strengths, library staff traveled the state, visiting with area electric cooperatives and interviewing people directly involved with the coming of REA and the establishment of electric membership cooperatives around Georgia. More than 100 organizations and individuals shared their collections, memories and perspectives. At the center of the project are the memories and experiences of rural Georgians who lived through this major transition, one of the most important in modern times.

Severn says she and her staff began developing the idea for an exhibit three years ago. They realized early that while technology is an integral part of the story, it is the people who have the stories to tell.

“This exhibit then is not about the technology of rural electrification alone, but also about the people who dreamed of having it and of the people who struggled to provide it,” she says. “It is an exhibit about memories and reflections, about pageantry and politics, about strength and determination in the face of the hard times, about innovation and cooperation, of cooperation and common ground. As Georgians look to the future and imagine the challenges and opportunities that society will face, it is tempting to search for the next greatest thing, but as the history of rural electrification has demonstrated, technological advances alone rarely provide simple solutions to complex problems. It is people who have the power.”

During the exhibit’s run (through Sept. 30), there will be lectures and film series in addition to other events planned to illuminate the REA’s history. The Russell Library will also open on Saturdays (except for UGA home football games and university holidays) from 1 to 4:45 p.m. for the exhibit.

Archival materials from all three special collections in the Libraries are included in the exhibit—the Russell, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards.

Tuesday, January 17
King Week: Education Day.
Special presentations by UGA faculty, staff and students for visiting students from Clarke Central, Cedar Shoals, Monroe area, Madison County and Oconee County high schools. 9 a.m. Georgia Hall, Tate Student Center. Sponsored by the MLK Week Planning Committee. 542-5773.

Men’s Basketball.
vs. Kentucky. ESPN-TV. 9 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

Wednesday, January 18
Film Screening.
Free of Eden. 5 p.m. North PJ Auditorium. Sponsored by the UGA Alumni Association and the Department of Theatre and Film Studies. 542-2091.

Cedric Scott, producer of the film Free of Eden and an alumnus of UGA’s theatre and film studies department, visits campus Jan. 18-20.  Scott’s stay includes a screening of his film, Free of Eden, and visits to a number of theatre and film classes.

The film screening and a question-and-answer session with Scott at North PJ auditorium is followed by a reception hosted by the UGA Alumni Association. Scott will give a presentation at a Department of Theatre and Film Studies’ colloquium Jan. 20 at 12:20 p.m. in Room 53 of the Fine Arts building.  

“Cedric Scott is one of the department’s most distinguished alumni, and we are thrilled to have him back on campus for the first time since he graduated 33 years ago,” says David Saltz, department head. “His visit and the screening of Free of Eden carry particular significance during Martin Luther King Jr. Week, given the important role Mr. Scott has played in creating and promoting African-American cinema.”

Scott produced his 1999 film Free of Eden for the Showtime cable network. The film stars Sidney Poitier and his daughter, Sydney Poitier, as a prominent New York businessman and the feisty, troubled inner-city teen he mentors.

During the past five years, Scott’s productions have been nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy awards. Scott won both the International Film/Video Competition and the Excellence In Media/Angel Award for Free of Eden. As producer of the film Mandela and DeKlerk, Scott was nominated for a Cable Ace Award and the Golden Laurel Award.

For his efforts to bring nonwhites and women into the fields of communication and entertainment, Scott received awards from such organizations as the NAACP; Y.E.S. to Jobs; the Los Angeles Black Women in Media Coalition; and from former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. 

King Week: Interfaith Service.
Speaker: Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. 7 p.m. Reception Hall, Tate Student Center. Sponsored by the UGA Campus Ministries Association and the MLK Week Planning Committee. 542-5773.

Presentation: Great Gardens of Ireland.
$10 ($8 members). 7:30 p.m. Callaway Building, State Botanical Garden. 542-6156.

Allan Armitage, horiticulture, discusses the Emerald Isle of Ireland. A reception will follow the presentation.

Faculty Recital.
Anatoly Sheludyakov, piano. 8 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall. Sponsored by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.
542-3737.

The concert will feature Prelude and Fugue in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, Haydn’s Sonata in C Major as
well as music by Cesar Franck, Paul Hindemith and Balakirev’s virtuosic “Islamey” Eastern Fantasy.

Thursday, January 19
Twilight Toasts in the Garden.
$15 ($10 members). 6:30-8 p.m. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. Sponsored by Athens First Bank and Trust, the Friends of the Garden and Café Trumps. 542-6014.

Women’s Basketball.
vs. Mississippi State. 7 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

King Week: GospelFest.
Musical groups and speaker the Rev. David T. Batts. 7 p.m. Greater Bethel AME Church, 140 Rose St. Sponsored by the MLK Week Planning Committee. 548-0014.

Friday, January 20
King Week: Coffee Hour.
11 a.m. Memorial Hall Ballroom. 542-5773.

Colloquium.
Speaker: Cedric Scott, producer of the film, Free of Eden. Reception will follow. 12:20 p.m. 53 Fine Arts Building. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Film Studies. 542-2091.

Lecture.
“Finding Myself in My Work: Dual Narratives of Academic and Researcher Identification,” Katherine Babka, Department of Workforce Education, Leadership and Social Foundations. 12:20-1:10 p.m.
350 Student Learning Center. Friday Speaker Series. Sponsored by the Institute for Women’s Studies. 542-0066.

King Week: Music Fest.
Music provided by Adam Ledgister of Kaizen Entertainment. 7 p.m. Georgia Hall, Tate Student Center. Sponsored by the MLK Week Planning Committee. 542-5773.

Observatory Open House.
The 24-inch telescope located atop the physics building is open free for public viewing. 7 p.m. 542-7827.

Women’s Gymnastics.
vs. Arkansas. 7:30 p.m. Coliseum.

Concert.
UGA Wind Ensemble. 8 p.m. Hodgson Concert Hall. Sponsored by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. 542-3737.

12th Annual Graduate Student Symposium.
Through Jan. 21. Sponsored by the Institute of Ecology. 542-6013.

Presentations by ecology graduate and undergraduate students. Plenary address by William Cale, UGA alumnus and president of the University of North Alabama, will conclude the Jan. 21 oral session. Institute of Ecology Auditorium.

Women’s tennis.
Georgia Invitational. Through Jan. 22. Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Saturday, January 21
Workshop.
“Unit 2: Care and Feeding of Honeybees.” Beekeeping For Beginners Series. $45 ($40 members). 9 a.m.-noon. Visitor Center, classroom A. State Botanical Garden. 542-6156.

Swimming and Diving.
vs. Tennessee. 11 a.m. Gabrielsen Natatorium, Ramsey Student Center.

Men’s Basketball.
vs. Mississippi. Fox Sports Net South TV. 5 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

Concert.
UGA Jazz Band. 7:30 p.m. Hodgson Concert Hall. Sponsored by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. 542-3737.

King Week: Unity Ball.
Advance tickets $8 couple ($5 single) available at the Tate Student Center ticket office. Tickets may also be purchased by credit card at 542-8074. 8 p.m. Georgia Hall, Tate Student Center. Sponsored by the Black Affairs Council and the MLK Week Planning Committee. 542-5773.

Art Exhibition.
Feeling the Familiar Pull, Andrew T. Crawford. Through May 21. Sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

An Atlanta-based sculptor, Crawford works in metal, wood and found objects. His goal is to match organic form with mechanical objects and to explore the tension between the natural and the man-made. He draws his inspiration from day-to-day interaction with everyday objects.

Sunday, January 22
Women’s Basketball.
vs. LSU. 2:30 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

Monday, January 23
Poetry Reading.
As part of the Georgia Poetry Circuit, internationally acclaimed poet Robert Wrigley will read from his work and take questions from the audience. 7:30 p.m. Little Kings, 223 Hancock Ave. Sponsored by the Georgia Review. 542-3481.

Professor of English and director of the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Idaho, Wrigley has published six books of poems, including Lives of the Animals (2003), Reign of Snakes (1999), and In the Bank of Beautiful Sins (1995). His earlier collections are What My Father Believed (1991) and Moon in a Mason Jar (1986) and The Sinking of Clay City (1979).

Coming up
Native Plant Symposium.
Jan. 25. Wildflowers, native plants and related landscape issues. $24 ($22 members). 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Callaway Building, State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Sponsored by the State Botanical Garden and the Garden Club of Georgia. 542-6156.

Concert.
Jan. 25. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty Suite. Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor. $65-$75 (half-price students). 8 p.m. Hodgson Hall. Sponsored by Performing Arts Center (Music Series II). 542?]4400.

Workshop.
Jan. 26. “Garden Art and Ornaments.” A six-class that meets on Thursdays. Through March 2. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Visitor Center, classroom A. State Botanical Garden. 355-3161.