Once you get far enough into southeastern Ohio, it’s hard to ignore that you’re getting into Appalachia with the verdant, lush forests and fields and the rolling foothills that surround the region. The history is seeped into the land, and the influences are many, even when you’re living in a larger area like Athens, so it’s no surprise that the cities pay homage to the culture of the surrounding land like the Athena Cinema does with its From the Hills and Hollers series, where Appalachian stories are put on the forefront with special viewings.
What’s the Documentary Calls from Home: Prison Radio in Appalachia About?
Documentaries surrounding Appalachia are important because they shed light and humanity on a culture that is often criticized and hidden away from mainstream media and culture. As a documentary, Calls from Home: Prison Radio in Appalachia serves to showcase family bonds enduring even while one member is incarcerated.
Calls from Home centers around Sylvia, a radio DJ, who hosts a weekly call-in show of the same name that allows family members of incarcerated individuals to call in and send messages to their loved ones behind bars across central Appalachia. For these prisoners, shows and radio programs like Calls from Home are some of the only ways they have contact with the outside world and keep in touch with family. Community shows like this create a much-needed lifeline that keeps people connected while serving prison time.
Sylvia Ryerson, the director of the documentary, got her start with the show while volunteering WMMT, a community radio station in rural Appalachian Kentucky. This is where Calls from Home—the radio show—began. Ryerson would take calls from people, and over time, she would gain regular callers on the show sharing life updates with loved ones in the prison system.
After its release, the documentary went on to win the 2022 Jack Spadaro Documentary Award for the best nonfiction film on Appalachian people and culture, cementing its status as a must-see documentary for those looking to learn more about the region and the people who call it home.
Athena Cinema’s From the Hills and Hollers Series
From the Hills and Hollers is a series that the Athena Cinema has put on since 2022, and the series aims to connect the home and school communities in Athens with the surrounding Appalachian region and the culture behind it. The films in the series examine life in Appalachia from all angles—sometimes good, and sometimes not-so-good.
In order to foster that deeper understanding of Appalachian culture and people, the Athena Cinema puts on short introductions and lectures about the films that allow audiences to glean important takeaways and themes that come up in the films. Plus, more often than not, the introductions and lectures are put on by the actual directors of the films, meaning that viewers get a truly inside look at what they’re about to watch. The best part of all? Admission is free to any of the films in the series.
Catch Calls from Home: Prison Radio in Appalachia at the Athena Cinema on April 18th, 2024 at 7pm. If you’re interested in watching a trailer beforehand, the Athena has that on their page too.