Cinema Series opens with 'Little Amelie' at the Maxwell

By Takeyah Flanagan | Staff writer

Augusta University’s Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre hosted the first Cinema Series of the fall semester on Thursday, Sept. 10.

Anyone who is a student can get in for free. The movie that featured that night was “Little Amelie or the Character of Rain,” by Mailys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, released in 2025.

An hour before the movie started, there was a DJ, and refreshments such as waters and sodas that were provided for the night. Many people were mingling and talking among themselves and getting to know and meet people they had not met before. That night 116 had attended the movie night.

The movie consisted of unique art styles and a rhythmic flow of storytelling

The art style with each of the scenes and the characters’ stories coming together to tell the main characters’ story was refreshing. The movie did well diving down into telling how a young girl is navigating her life through her eyes and others through narrative scenes.

The comparison to the young girl and God was an interesting take and makes the story have a deeper meaning when the young girl realizes all her experiences throughout the movie was emotionally her being human.

The art was smooth and the color palette was mostly this bright neutral tone of oranges, yellows, and other springtime colors. Black bold outlines that are usually used to highlight characters and their features were not used in the movie. This gave the artists more freedom to be more fluid and expressive with blending colors and characters in their environments.

Symbols and themes were apparent in this movie and were shown for more than one character. There were a few characters who had conflict within themselves as well as the main character. These metaphors and visual elements throughout the movie helped the audience see how the conflict unfolded and gave more details into what was being expressed for each character with what they were going through in their story.

Overall, the movie was beautifully written, and the art was executed.

Cinema Series films are shown regularly throughout the academic year in the Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre. (image courtesy of the Cinema Series)

As the movie came to an end, there was a period where everyone debriefed about the movie. It was fun getting to talk to other peers and faculty about the story and what meanings they found through the elements and central themes in the movie.

This was my first night at the Cinema Series, and I enjoyed meeting other people, including the ones behind the scenes working to put these together.

If you are looking to take a night out at your local school movie theater. The next Cinema Series movies are “Superman” and “Supergirl” on Tuesday, Sept. 15. “Superman” will air at 6 p.m. and “Supergirl” at 8:15 p.m. Snacks will be available at both movie premieres. The staff at the Maxwell are calling those snacks “super” cookies.

Contact Takeyah Flanagan at taflanagan@augusta.edu.