A Cinematic Intervention: Withdrawal Comes Home

DISCLAIMER: As much as one might like to believe, it is not possible to simply declare one’s love and support for independent art. Even the artists themselves are guilty of giving lip service to their craft while playing in the safe playgrounds of the status quo. We’ve been lured into believing that "Likes," "Follows," and "Shares" are the currency of a thriving arts culture. This "digital applause" might feed an artist's ego for a second, but it doesn't pay the culural bills or bypass the gatekeepers. Most importantly, it pulls you further and further away from the collective, shared experience of something real.

Dear Random Athenian,

The chances that you were not kidnapped and brought to this intervention because of a social media post, or email marketing, or the divine act of some renegade algorithm, are not remote--they are beyond microscopic to an absurd degree.

Full disclosure: You were likely brought here by the act of three local Athenians who happened to have $5 lying around and decided to buy an ad. Think of this experience as a three-act movie with a beginning and an end:

ACT I

1. Three people who love Athens
2. Appreciate good movies
3. Hate bad movies
4. Understand independent film has never been more choked and stifled by biollionaires, gatekeepers, algorithm sandwiches, artificial streaming bullets--all with one goal: distract you from content you would otherwise see more clearly and fall in love with.
5. Realize it's one thing to say you support independent art. It's another thing to put your money where your mouth is.
6. Discover that $15-$20 can buy a social media ad that will reach thousands
7. Had $5 lying around
8. Threw money into a pool
9. Buy ad

ACT II

1. A digital ad decides to throw itself in front of you
2. You clicked

ACT III

1. You are here

But none of this matters now. What matters is that you're here where the algorithm can't harm you! The urge to doomscroll and chase that next hit of dopamine can't rip you away from this page, unless you give it power. Now, the choice is obviouisly yours and you are free to leave this space, but be warned that when you do, something like this will be waiting for you on the other side:

Now, let’s get to why you’re really here:

For one week and ONE WEEK only, the award-winning Athens-made feature film Withdrawal will be playing in theaters. Fresh off its theatrical run in Atlanta, Withdrawal returns home from February 6-February 12 at Ciné, with a different community host each night. And EVERY screening will be followed by a special Q&A with the writer/director and cast/crew.

SHOWTIMES:

• Friday, Feb. 6: Screening at 8:30 p.m. hosted by Fuel Hot Yoga
• Saturday, Feb. 7: Screening at 2:45 p.m. hosted by Project Safe
• Sunday, Feb. 8: Screening at 5:30 p.m. hosted by Airee Edwards of Agora Vintage
• Monday, Feb. 9: Screening at 5:15 p.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 10: Screening at 5:15 p.m. (Hosted by Athens Film Festival)
• Wednesday, Feb. 11: Screening at 8:15 p.m. (Hosted by Mayor Kelly Girtz)
• Thursday, Feb. 12: Screening at 8:15 p.m. (Hosted by Nuçi’s Space)

As a film festival, we could list all the international accolades and go through every incredible scene that shows Athens at its most raw and vibrant. We could go on and on about how "Athens" this film truly is, written and directed by Athens native Aaron Strand, supported by Nucis Space and so many other incredible local people. But at the end of the day, film is the art of showing, not telling. So we'll just leave this here:

FUN FACT: Did you know that before the word "doomscrolling" existed, it was once known as "Reading"?

image from https://letterboxd.com/film/withdrawal-2025/

Tickets to see Withdrawal are as low as $8.50. Not only is this the one film every Athenian truly needs to see this year, but it’s likely the only thing left on Earth you can actually buy for under ten bucks. In honor of this absolute triumph in both cinema and economic defiance, here's a list of items in this godforsaken world that cost more than $8.50:

SH*T THAT COSTS MORE THAN A TICKET TO WITHDRAWAL

1. A bag of avocados: They'll go brown in three days. This film will live in your head forever.
2. Everything at Whole Foods: You spend at least $10 walking through their automatic doors.
3. A Candle: A f****ng candle...
4. A giant artisan Cookie: 1200 calories of delicious regret and absurdity. Movies are zero calories
5. Jersey Mike's, Jimmy John's, and literally every sandwich place named after some random guy with two first names
6. Every streaming service imaginable: Let's not go there.
7. A car wash: The cleansing of your soul with good art is far more imperative

But behind it all, Withdrawal and Athens are bound by a shared DNA: the fierce, independent spirit of the film meets the legendary status of the greatest audience culture in the world.

And Athenians know the bottom line better than anyone: If you claim to love local, independent art—if you want stories born from passion rather than corporate focus groups and algorithmic homogenization—then the time for 'Likes' and "Shares" is over. Either put your money where your mouth is and lift up the culture that uplifts you, or stop pretending and go back to chasing dopamine.

The theater is dark, the seat is empty. #GoSeeWithdrawal