A portrait is generally thought of as a photograph or painting of an individual person, place or thing. During the Athens Film and Video Festival, filmmakers attempted to contest this old belief with the creation of a segment called “Cinematic Portraits,” transforming the traditional portrait from paper to a film reel.

This segment consisted of eight short films that all focused on the daily lives of a single person or business. “Cinematic Portraits” began with a lighthearted film about an older man sitting in the bleachers of a high school wrestling match in “Wrestling With My Father.” The film captures the father wiggling around in his seat, attempting to contain what is either an overexcitement for the match itself or his much-missed youth  attempting to re-emerge while watching his son’s match.

The film segment continued to present a group of rowdy Americans on vacation in a harsh day’s weather in Zimbabwe. After the laughter-filled first selection, the audience’s mood changed when this film, “White Girls Happy on Zambezi,” began, because although drunken tourists are comical, being forced to evaluate way the Americans act as the Zimbabwe natives work through a storm was eye-opening to many.

The selection then continued on to a heartfelt and touching film, “Pulitzer Pride,” which seemed to be a crowd favorite, resonating powerfully with the audience. “Pulitzer Pride” follows photographer John Kaplan and his struggle to overcome cancer. After he discovers his remission, Kaplan soon turns from helping himself to helping others through his photography. Joining forces with an artist he had previously photographed, Kaplan seeks to lift the spirits of a young cancer patient and to provide him with an unforgettable memory by replying to a family member’s letter of appreciation for his work.

From warm to religious, the films continued on with “Cowboy, Amen,” detailing the lives of Christian cowboys. The montage turned back to a lighter note with “Sinking Bobo,” which relates the life of a performer who works as a moneymaking clown in the dunk tanks of various state fairs nationwide. Turning what is a summer job to many into a long-term career of eight years, Bobo’s story is unique. While the audience may have thought Bobo was the most eccentric character they would see, there was room for more. “Jerry Moomaw – A Video Portrait from Belize,” follows the life of Jerry Moomaw, a man who “escapes” civilization to live a life alone in the forests of Belize after feeling dissatisfied with civilized life.

After witnessing the equivalent of a “wild-man,” audience members saw a humorous and less-polished side of business-owning with “Meet Me at Geronimo’s” before the presentation concluded with a collection of portraits in a silent film displaying a poetry-like love story through subtitles and images.

Three of the eight filmmakers actually came to the “Cinematic Portraits” presentation and watched the final production of the portraits segment of the festival. Among audience members, a joyous and enlightened mood was present throughout the viewing, seemingly caused by all of the fun and interesting people who were covered as part of the presentation.

However, while all of the films fit together contextually, the order in which the films were presented could have been arranged better. Moving quickly between the sentimental and comedic, it was difficult for the audience to adjust to in the limited amount of time given. In the end, the films were united by the filmmakers’ attempts to capture touching and intense lives.

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