Atlanta's 100-Year-Old Rialto to host Inaugural Be Downtown Film Festival, July 22-23

Georgia State University’s Rialto Center for the Arts, the Atlanta Film Society and Central Atlanta Progress are pleased to announce the first ever Be Downtown Film Festival on July 22 and 23, 2016.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Rialto opening as a movie theater in 1916. Built as the largest cinema in the Southeastern United States, the Rialto closed its doors to the public in 1989 before being acquired by Georgia State University years later. In addition to the centennial anniversary, the Rialto is also celebrating 20 years as GSU’s signature Center for the Arts as well as the Atlanta Film Society celebrating 40 years since its founding in 1976. The Be Downtown Film Festival will pay homage to the Rialto’s roots with a two-day festival celebrating films from the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" Named Best Picture of the Year by Georgia Film Critics Association

George Miller's blockbuster wins four total; "Inside Out" wins two, while "Ant-Man" receives Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema.

The Georgia Film Critics Association have announced the winners of their 2015 Awards slate. In their 5th year, they have named "Mad Max: Fury Road" the year's best film, taking home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design. The haul of four awards is the second highest in the GAFCA's history, second only to the six awards that "The Tree of Life" won in 2011.

"Inside Out" was another big winner, taking home Best Animated Film and Best Original Screenplay for Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley. Alicia Vikander also took home two awards, Best Supporting Actress for "Ex Machina" and the Breakthrough Award. Jessica Chastain won the same two awards back in 2011. Also the Breakthrough Award winner in 2013, Brie Larson won Best Actress for "Room." Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor for "The Revenant" and Sylvester Stallone was named Best Supporting Actor for "Creed."

It was a tight year in several of the races, with the GAFCA releasing on twitter that the Best Supporting Actor and Best Score races resulted in near-ties and the Best Picture race saw half the nominees receiving several first-place mentions a piece. "Creed" director Ryan Coogler was second place in the Best Director race, despite his film not being a Best Picture nominee.

Best Foreign Film went to "Son of Saul," Best Documentary to "Amy" and Best Ensemble went to Tom McCarthy's "Spotlight." Georgia-lensed "Furious 7" won Best Original Song for "See You Again," performed by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.

"Ant-Man" was named as the winner for the 2015 Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema. Awarded to the films' directors and writers, previous winners include "John Portman: A Life of Building," "Sahkanaga," "Selma" and "The Spectacular Now."

Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

Atlanta: "Sal" (***1/2)

Fele Martínez and Javiera Contador star in "Sal"

Perhaps the most undervalued film at this year's Atlanta Film Festival, Diego Rougier's "Sal" (or "Salt") was also one of the festival's most pleasant of surprises. Disguised as an homage to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, "Sal" is a more complex film than just that. In a clever mash-up of stories, the lines are blurred between the tale of a struggling independent filmmaker and the tale of a small town under the control of a rough and rowdy gang of cowboys.