As the driving force behind Trilith’s development, Cathy shares his vision for 2026 as the year when all the pieces come together, from new hotels and restaurants to the grand opening of Trilith LIVE, positioning the community as a major player in Georgia’s booming entertainment economy.

Writer, director, and producer Aaron Strand sat down with Georgia Entertainment to discuss his micro-budget feature “Withdrawal,” a raw examination of addiction and codependency that follows a singer-songwriter and her rebellious boyfriend as they attempt to quit heroin cold turkey to avoid rehab. Shot entirely in Athens with a Georgia-based cast and crew, the film premiered to a sold-out crowd at the Atlanta Film Festival.

Commentary from Georgia Entertainment Editor in Chief, Jennifer Reynolds. “The media is no longer fueled by reporting the truth. Now, misrepresentation, political agendas and clickbait are the heartbeat of this industry.”

For nearly two hours, I talked. I bragged about Georgia’s state-of-the-art facilities. I touted its investment in training a skilled labor force—some of the best crews in the world. I celebrated the collaboration across the Department of Education and the University System of Georgia to develop curriculum pipelines from middle school through graduate programs that nurture the next generation of storytellers.