South Arts staffer attends inaugural Southern Circuit screening in Suwanee, GA

Last week I attended the first inaugural Southern Circuit screening for the city of Suwanee at their beautiful screening venue, The Movie Tavern, in Suwanee, Georgia. This was not only the first Circuit screening for this community, but they also kicked off the tour for filmmaker Christopher Rufo and his film, Age of Champions.

A buzz was in the air as we all settled in to the plush seats of The Movie Tavern. I was more comfortable than I would have been in my own living room! As the film began, the crowd quickly warmed up to the warm-hearted comedy and memorable characters. Laughter peeled through the room during one scene as Senior Olympics Gold Medalist, Bradford Tatum, reminded his wife to include handsome among his many attributes. In short, everyone had a great time.

After the film, everyone hung around to hear from the filmmaker. Director, Christopher Rufo, talked about where the characters are now and his own experiences and thoughts as a filmmaker. We were all very relieved to hear that Earl finally won his gold medal. We also discovered that there was a fellow senior athlete among us who had competed in basketball against one of the film's subjects, The Tigerettes of Baton Rouge. She reported that they are indeed as tough, if not more so, than the film portrays. Her presence prompted Rufo to remind the audience that while the film's subjects are extraordinary, there are many such extraordinary senior athletes living in communities all over the United States.

Finally, as the crowd filed out to head home or to join Rufo at a reception that followed the screening, this arts agency staffer felt glad that such a wonderful film and filmmaker would be continuing on to many communities to share the laughter and the joy that I had experienced tonight.