"This Is Pike County" Documentary Screens Free in Athens Nov. 12, With the Filmmaker in the Room

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ATHENS, Ohio – A documentary about life in Pike County is coming to the Athena Cinema next month, and its director will be there to talk about it.

The Athena Cinema will show “This Is Pike County” on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. as part of its “From the Hills and Hollers: Appalachian Stories Film Series,” Ohio University announced. Filmmaker Laura Paglin will lead a Q&A and discussion after the screening.

Admission is free, but tickets are required. They can be claimed at athenacinema.com/hillsthisispikecounty.

Paglin, who lives in Cleveland, first came to Pike County in 2017 after the 2016 Rhoden family murders. She expected to explore the aftermath, but was drawn instead to the people, the landscape and stories that had nothing to do with the crime. She lived at the budget motel featured in the film while documenting the everyday lives of local residents.

The film follows a close-knit rural community facing mounting pressures, including an unsolved family murder, and what it means to come of age in a place left behind. Ohio University noted that Pike County is now slated to host the world’s largest AI data center.

“This Is Pike County” was produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Thomas Lennon, has won several festival jury awards and has screened in 22 cities. Author Arlie Hochschild called it “haunting, quietly searing, hard to forget.”

The screening is the last of the fall semester for the series, now in its fifth year. The Athena Cinema is at 20 South Court Street in Athens.

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