Athena Cinema to present “This Is Pike County” with filmmaker Laura Paglin on Nov. 12

The Athena Cinema will present the award-winning documentary “This Is Pike County” on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., as part of the “From the Hills and Hollers: Appalachian Stories Film Series.” Filmmaker Laura Paglin will join the audience for a post-screening Q&A and discussion. Admission is free, however, tickets are required and be claimed at https://athenacinema.com/hillsthisispikecounty/.

Paglin’s visit builds on the series’ tradition of bringing notable filmmakers whose work focuses on the Appalachian region to Athens. Previous visiting directors include Nicole Riegel with “Holler” and Elaine McMillion Sheldon with “King Coal.”

Paglin, a Cleveland resident, first traveled to Pike County in 2017 after the 2016 Rhoden family murders brought the area into the national spotlight. Expecting to explore the tragedy’s aftermath, she instead found herself drawn to the people, the landscape and stories unrelated to the crime. 

She lived at the budget motel featured in the film while documenting the everyday lives of local residents.

“This Is Pike County” follows a close-knit rural community facing mounting pressures - including an unsolved family murder - and lingers on what it means to come of age in a place left behind. With Pike County, Ohio, now slated to host the world’s largest AI data center, this intimate portrait offers a window into an Appalachian community facing yet another wave of change.

Arlie Hochschild, bestselling author of “Strangers in Their Own Land,” describes the film as “haunting, quietly searing, hard to forget.”

Produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Thomas Lennon, “This Is Pike County” has received several festival jury awards and has been screened in 22 cities across the country.

This screening is the final installment for the fall semester of the Appalachian Stories Film Series, which is in its fifth year. The spring semester will resume with “Strangers and Kin” on Jan. 21, “A Beast Touch The Mountain” on Feb. 25, and “Walk The Line” on April 1.

The “From the Hills and Hollers: Appalachian Stories Film Series” is made possible by sponsorship from University Libraries,College of Health Sciences and Professions, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Honors Tutorial College, the OHIO School of Film, and the office of Signature Academic Experiences.