Tag: Atlanta Film Society

One of the most gratifying aspects of my years at WABE was connecting listeners to our city’s cultural events. A vibrant arts community can uplift and enrich the lives of Atlantans. The challenge today is to help these organizations thrive: Funding is essential from various sources. With money allocated to the arts, we can all take pride in a city made greater by its cultural organizations.

The Plaza Theatre isn’t just a place to see a film: It is a cultural heartbeat, the kind of space where Atlanta’s weird and wonderful converge. The Plaza, honored as one of our “Best of Atlanta” entries in this issue, is one of the most venerable movie houses in the city—and its oldest. The Plaza’s art deco marquee is a landmark at the corner of Ponce de Leon and Highland avenues, and it’s always been the anchor tenant of Briarcliff Plaza.

With the news that SunTrust Bank had been acquired by BB&T and that the Turner Broadcasting name will soon be a thing of the past under AT&T's acquisition of WarnerMedia, many Atlanta nonprofits are asking questions about what these changes mean for corporate support of the arts in the city.

Videodrome, the roughly 2,000-square-foot shop at the corner of North Highland and North avenues, is the last video store standing in Atlanta that is not of the XXX variety. It is an oasis for film buffs (and the occasional visiting celebrity) who are suckers for special features, director’s cuts, or not letting Netflix’s algorithms ration out their media diets.

The purchase of one historic building seems strikingly auspicious for Atlanta’s growing film community: Chris Escobar’s acquisition of the Plaza Theatre.