In 1986, filmmaker Tony Gayton, then a recent graduate of the University of Southern California, took his camera into the Athens, Georgia music scene. The result was the documentary Athens, GA: Inside/Out, an inside look at the music scene that birthed such acts as The B-52s and R.E.M. that The New York Times called “a bright, scrappy new documentary” when it reviewed the project at the time. Though the film has been screened a few times since, like at the 2008 AthFest, and some segments of it seem to be floating around on YouTube, a high-quality version of the project is relatively inaccessible for the average art-rock fan.
But it might not have to be. In 2023, producer Bill Cody donated the original 16mm film reels and audio elements to the University Of Georgia Athens library, where it currently rests in the care of music curator Ryan Lewis. Now, the library is fundraising to restore and preserve the doc on a DCP (digital cinema package) and 35mm film, and they’re looking for some help. The university estimates that it’ll cost $60,000 to restore the film, and, as of this writing, they’re raised about half of that.
On the fundraiser’s site, the folks at the library write that they hope to have the project done in time to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary next year. Lewis tells The A.V. Club that once the restoration is complete, there will be some donor screenings at Athens’ local theater Cine, and there are plans to get the film screened around the country, starting with New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, and Atlanta. There are also plans to issue the remastered doc on home video. Lewis tells us that the existing DVD version, which is the version that has most recently been screened publicly, is “actually just duped from the original VHS home video release.” Athens, GA: Inside/Out certainly sounds due for an upgrade. If you’d like to pitch in, or would just like to learn more about the fundraiser, you can find that information here.
