PS2, AMBER, ’72 to play NAFF

You know where you need to be two weeks from tonight, don’t you? The New Art Film Festival returns Friday, April 8, 2011, to the Art Theater, 126 W. Church St., Champaign, IL, as part of the Boneyard Arts Festival presented by 40 North 88 West! Even though it only lasts one day this year, we’re going to pack that day with an all-new movie selection created by your friends and neighbors! What we have in store for y’all includes the following…

The first of our two features concerns an evil sorcerer who returns from defeat to badger our heroes as he infiltrates the homes of innocent families with mind control devices. This is the brightly hued clothesline on which hang a ton of gags, references, and fisticuffs in PRESS START 2 CONTINUE from director Ed Glaser and Dark Maze Studios, making its theatrical premiere in the 7 p.m. block.

In the second, a wise-for-her-years preteen fails to see a dark storm brewing in the form of new neighbors and her mother’s suitor, connected by very conspicuous elements in their pasts. This is the taut dynamic through which a child must navigate in AMBER ROSE from director Mike Trippiedi and Shut Up and Do It Productions, which will make its Champaign public premiere in the 9 p.m. block.

Finally, the first short film we’ll give up involves a square-jawed adventurer’s attempts to move through time with a scratch-built flight suit on his back and plate-sized floppies in his pockets. Ridiculousness and robot fights ensue in ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1972 from director Chris Lukeman and Kill Vampire Lincoln Productions, which will close the 5 p.m. shorts block and also appear in the 11 p.m. “Watch ‘til the Midnight Hour” block.

A complete NAFF itinerary will be announced next week, but we’re trickling some choices onto the Interwebs and into people’s consciousness to get everyone pumped for what will play this “come-and-go-as-you-will” free event. (Of course, we’d be ecstatic if you joined us for the entire evening but with all the other Boneyard attractions happening in the immediate vicinity, we understand if you need to expand your horizons. Maybe.)

Make sure you “Like” the NAFF Facebook page so you receive first news about all the other shorts; schedule and press information will cascade down beginning on Monday, March 28! For those who may be prone to “waiting for the rental,” realize that most NAFF titles are so brand-new they won’t be available on disc or the Web any time soon. Get thee to the Art in 14 days lest you miss out!

~ Jason Pankoke

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