C-U Blogfidential

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Last week, we gave you a brief overview of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, which provides behind-the-scenes opportunities for undergraduates and graduates attending the University of Illinois who have an interest in the cinema, and Foxtail Film Festival, which positions high school and college students from Illinois State University and other institutions front and center with their work. So, where does that leave our enrolled Illini in having their own work seen, heard, and celebrated? You can find out pretty easily at the UI Spurlock Center for World Cultures, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, this coming Friday, May 2, when the classmates of MACS (Media and Cinema Studies unit in the College of Media) and faculty supervisor Jonathan Knipp put on the newest Illinois Student Film Festival. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for mingling and the lights will go down soon after 7 p.m. for movie-gazing as the free showing will offer its audience an intimate look at the stories and sensations that young people on campus have teamed up to relate on the big screen.

In this Daily Illini article, Makenna Norman visits with Knipp and his students about what the show will entail. Yearly variations planned by those who take the spring semester “Film Festivals” course, MACS 366, have entertained the campus community for more than a decade under previous guises like the Illini Film Festival, Golden Corn Film Festival, Illini Independent Film Festival, Illinifest, and UIUC Student Film Festival as it was known last year. Unlike the formulated consistency of the other events, Illinois FF is as much a presentation as it is a lab project that is experimented with by its revolving group of organizers.

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Also, unlike with Foxtail and ‘Ebertfest,’ we can’t tell you what exactly will be shown other than the obvious; copy found on Illinois FF’s social media states “the event will contain screenings, concessions, trivia, interviews, and more for all to enjoy,” so it’s clear that “big fun” is a selling point. We’re not even sure if movies from past years are available to watch or if there still is a dedicated website for Illinois FF, as the only link from Facebook leads to an online submission form. A hint at the variety of approach can be gleaned from the 2024 award winners, pictured on Facebook and shared here; they include an experimental piece directed by Juan David Campolargo Hoyos, CHRONICLES OF THE FUTURE, winner of the Audience Award and a $100 gift card, and a period action fantasy called WUXING WARRIORS: AN ASIAN AMERICAN EPIC, which earned director David Zhang and crew the Jonathan Laxamana Award for Diversity in Student Filmmaking and a $500 prize. Congratulations to them and their achievements.

We hope the students and audience members who gather together on Friday can appreciate all the effort that is put into something like the Illinois Student Film Festival, let alone its selections, and honestly wonder whether those who take MACS 366 or other relevant MACS courses ever learn about the legacy of film on campus apart from the storied life of Roger Ebert. Many alumni have gone on to successful careers in media and entertainment, such as the filmmaker Christopher Folkens of Los Angeles whose first feature production CATALYST was released in February, and many tenets of cinema on campus have held steady over time, such as the regular presence of student-run clubs for film appreciation and creation like Illini Film & Video, which celebrates twenty-five years of making movies at UI this semester. Cinematic catalysts can be found all around at the University of Illinois – don’t forget to look outward to Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond for inspiration as well, kids – if one cares to seek them out.

~ Jason Pankoke

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2025 Illinois Student Film Festival schedule
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL

Friday, May 2
6:00 p.m. Doors open for networking and seating
7:00 p.m. Film program

Stills from CHRONICLES OF THE FUTURE (top) and WUXING WARRIORS: AN ASIAN AMERICAN EPIC (above) are courtesy the Illinois Student Film Festival via Facebook. | Other artwork is courtesy the Illinois Student Film Festival via Facebook.

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Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!

4/25: Marty McKee (writer, Johnny LaRue’s Crane Shot, Champaign-Urbana, IL)
4/28: John Isberg (cinematographer/co-producer, HAUNTED HOUSE OF PANCAKES, Haunted House of Pancakes LLC, Fort Thomas, KY)
4/29: Sophie McMahan Berkley (artist, Sophie McMahan, Urbana, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

The Report is on hiatus until May. Thank you for your readership, CUvians and Agents! You should pay attention to Smile Politely, The Daily Illini, Champaign Movie Makers, and Chambana Film Festival for breaking news and updates in our scene. CUBlog will also keep in step with our friends and share to Facebook when we come across things you would like. Keep reading!

IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing My Old Scene on Your Screen

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Since we’ve been spending extra time writing about the special-event slate in Champaign-Urbana and elsewhere for this week and next, we’ll need to play it modest for one more Calendar and sneak you a few peeks at the artifacts, collectibles, and tchotchkes we have on hand to share. Above and below, you will see most of the goodies sitting about in MFHQ Deux, awaiting their fifteen minutes (or, more likely, fifteen seconds) of CUBlog fame. If we can keep up with the photography and anecdotes, this series will run weekly into the summer; some will be an image and a paragraph, while others will take a few of both to explain how they reflect or represent part of the whole that is our film culture. You might pick out a few distinct things in our first candid, while the second hints that dear Dora Hall, whose recording we found at a local music storehouse a few weeks ago, will be along for the ride and not solely because her LP is a TV soundtrack. Squint closely and Google precisely if you want to guess in advance the significance of the spiral booklet with “Richard Greenberg” on its cover. For reasons, the Freaky Film Festival entry is the first one we’re setting up even though it will not be the first one we’ll run. And, the one-of-a-kind boards in the Barnes & Noble tote are not a purchase from that chain, but lucky discoveries at a seminal bookshop du C-U that Ye Ed adopted some twenty-five years ago. These mysteries and more will soon unfold!

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CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

20 Years Ago … Friday, April 22, 2005: Chris Folkens, an ambitious University of Illinois senior in LAS-Speech Communication and member of Illini Film & Video, premiered his second narrative featurette TOXIN during two shows at Armory 101 inside the Armory Building concurrent with that year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival. Rumored to be in attendance was Hollywood producer Roy Lee (THE RING, THE GRUDGE), otherwise visiting campus to speak at the East Asian Languages and Cultures department. Folkens’ action-drama starred then-UI students Aaron Golden (FALLING OVERNIGHT) and Karla Strum (TERRI, LITTLE ACCIDENTS) along with genre film veteran Robert Nolan Clark (RHINELAND). [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Decatur, IL
“Special movie and memorabilia sale” in memory of Skip Huston and the Avon Theatre* (4/26, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., click here for more information and location)

@ Gregory Hall, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Illini Film & Video* presents “48 Hours” film challenge (4/25, 7 p.m.-4/27, 7 p.m., Room 215)

@ Lincoln Hall, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Illini Film & Video* meeting w/“48 Hours” film challenge screening (4/28, 7 p.m., Room 1090)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* screening series presents SLICE OF LIFE (documentary) w/shorts (4/27, 4 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE ACCOUNTANT 2, THE LEGEND OF OCHI, ON SWIFT HORSES, THE SHROUDS, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (re-release), UNTIL DAWN, THE AMATEUR, THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND*, DROP*, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, THE WEDDING BANQUET (4/25 on), ROADMAP TO REALITY: CARLO ACUTIS AND THE DIGITAL AGE (religious documentary) (4/27, 4 p.m.; 4/28-4/29, 7 p.m.), Blumhouse 15th anniversary “Halfway to Halloween” feat. M3GAN (4/30, 7 & 9 p.m.), THE SURFER sneak preview w/Nicolas Cage livestream interview (4/30, 7 p.m.), THE SURFER, RAID 2 (in Hindi with English sub) (5/1 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE ACCOUNTANT 2, CHEECH & CHONG’S LAST MOVIE (documentary), THE LEGEND OF OCHI, ON SWIFT HORSES, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (re-release), UNTIL DAWN, THE AMATEUR, DROP*, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, SNEAKS* (animation), WARFARE, THE WEDDING BANQUET* (4/25 on), THE WOMAN IN THE YARD*, A WORKING MAN* (4/25-4/26), MICKEY 17* (4/25-4/26, 4/28-4/29, 5/1), The Metropolitan Opera: Le Nozze di Figaro (4/26, 12 p.m., simulcast; 4/30, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), HAPPY GILMORE (4/27, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/30, 7 p.m.), ROADMAP TO REALITY: CARLO ACUTIS AND THE DIGITAL AGE (religious documentary) (4/27-5/1), THUNDERBOLTS* (5/1 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (4/25-4/26, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
The College of Media at Illinois presents the 25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival* (through 4/26) Schedule

Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!

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Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s that time of year again, friends and former neighbors, when the siren call of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival attracts thousands of filmgoers to Park Avenue in downtown Champaign to enjoy a particular kind of cinema community at the venerable Virginia Theatre. Commiserate with friendly faces you haven’t seen in a long while? Check. Compare notes with the armchair movie maven sitting next to you in your favorite section? Check. Purchase concessions and collectibles from the friendly and dependable ‘Ebertfest’ volunteers who always return to help out? Check. Step outside for a breather and sneak in a snack from a food tent or truck camped out on the block? Check. Get in a photo op under the marquee or with the Roger Ebert “thumbs up” statue that is a permanent fixture out front? Check. Walk away satisfied and grateful the College of Media at Illinois, Chaz Ebert, and Nate Kohn still put on a good show? Check. Turning out is the best policy to ensure an event like this can continue in the C-U every spring, dearest viewers, especially given all of the lumps the exhibition industry and festival circuit have endured recently.

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Our traditional “short form” version of the ‘Ebertfest’ schedule is below, but you should always visit the official event website for much more about the selections, their guests, and other details. You can also visit this Media subsite for information about the annual Ebert Symposium, which is facilitated in part by the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies and begins tonight, Tuesday, April 22, as a direct lead-in to ‘Ebertfest’ itself. Individual tickets, bundles, and festival passes are still available through the Virginia’s box office during business hours at (217) 356-9063 as well as on their website. Enjoy your experience and make your memories, ‘Ebertfest’ faithful, as coming together for something artful is an honorable act in the current cultural climate of America. Opportunities to do so freely should never be taken for granted.

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2025 Ebert Symposium schedule
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL

Tuesday, April 22
7:00 p.m. screening and discussion: HER (2013, 126 min., Dir. Spike Jonze)

Wednesday, April 23
Symposium topic: “Artificial Intelligence Imagined and Realized”
9:30 a.m. keynote address by Scott Bukatman, Stanford University
11:00 a.m. roundtable discussion with UI faculty Alison Duncan Kerr, Ben Grosser, Heng Ji, and Robert Markley

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2025 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival schedule
@ The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign, IL

Wednesday, April 23
6:30 p.m. THE SEARCHERS (1956, 119 min., 70 mm, Dir. John Ford)

Thursday, April 24
9:00 a.m. MEGALOPOLIS (2024, 138 min., Dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
1:30 p.m. DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (1985, 104 min., Dir. Susan Seidelman)
5:00 p.m. HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A. (1977, 103 min., 35 mm, Dir. Barbara Kopple)
9:30 p.m. HIS THREE DAUGHTERS (2024, 105 min., 35 mm, Dir. Azazel Jacobs)

Friday, April 25
10:30 a.m. A LITTLE PRAYER (2023, 91 min., Dir. Angus MacLachlan)
2:30 p.m. I’M STILL HERE (2024, 136 min., Dir. Walter Salles)
7:30 p.m. RUMOURS (2024, 104 min., Dir. Guy Maddin)

Saturday, April 26
9:00 a.m. THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED (1926, 80 min., Dir. Lotte Reiniger) Accompanied by the Anvil Orchestra
11:30 a.m. COLOR BOOK (2024, 96 min., Dir. David Fortune)
4:00 p.m. TOUCH (2024, 121 min., Dir. Baltasar Kormákur)
9:00 p.m. THE HANGOVER (2009, 100 min., Dir. Todd Phillips)

Special guests who are scheduled to appear include Susan Seidelman and Rosanna Arquette (DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN), Barbara Koppel (HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A.), Azazel Jacobs (HIS THREE DAUGHTERS), Guy Maddin (RUMORS), Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics (I’M STILL HERE), and via remote, the great Francis Ford Coppola (MEGALOPOLIS). Film critics and personalities who are also scheduled to participate include Brenda Butler, Brian Tallerico, Dion Metzger, Eric Pierson, Lauren Morton, Matt Zoller Seitz, Michael Phillips, Nell Minow, Omer Mozaffar, and Richard Roeper.

The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park St., Champaign, Illinois, which first opened in December 1921, is directed by Steven Bentz and operated by the Champaign Park District.

~ Jason Pankoke

Publicity still from I’M STILL HERE is courtesy Sony Pictures Classics. | Publicity still from RUMOURS is courtesy Bleecker Street. | Poster artwork from TOUCH is courtesy Focus Features.

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Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!

3/2: Anne Lukeman (“chief adventurist,” C-U Adventures in Time & Space escape room, Urbana, IL)
3/2: Kelly White (executive director, 40 North 88 West: Champaign County Arts Council, Champaign, IL)
3/5: James Treichler (producer/audio engineer, Wave Upon Wave, Champaign, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

Wow, so, film culture announcements and revelations have erupted over the last week or so and we’re not prepared to dive into it all for this Report. We’ll just stick with the plan, then, which is to highlight student-centered doings. You’ll see listings and links immediately below for the second CU International Film Festival, an inspirational short film showcase from local high school senior Max Libman and company, at the UI Spurlock Museum this Saturday, March 2, starting at 7 p.m. with tickets available on-site starting at 6 p.m., as well as the animé celebration at the UI Illini Union, UI-CON, organized and hosted by University of Illinois students connected with a long-running RSO, the Japanese Animation Club, lasting all day Saturday and Sunday, March 3, and free to attend for the campus community and general public. We also finally spotted a submission deadline of Friday, April 12, for the enrolled UI populace to enter their work for possible inclusion in the next UIUC Student Film Festival, which is slated to take place two weeks later on Friday, April 26, at Knight Auditorium in Spurlock where the CUIFF is holding court tomorrow. There is also the Foxtail Film Festival, arranged by faculty and adjuncts over at Illinois State University for the second year running, which has a late deadline of next Friday, March 8, for accepting submissions from high school and college students in several categories as listed on FilmFreeway; Foxtail events are scheduled to run from Thursday, April 25, through Sunday, April 28, with the screenings at the Normal Theater in downtown Normal. We’ll all need a spring break after this. Whew!

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

25 Years Ago … Wednesday, March 3, 1999: Operating out of a studio-office situated near downtown Champaign, Illinois, Opteryx Press puts its spin on independent film discourse to paper for the first time with the release of MICRO-FILM: The Warning Shot. The letter-size, 12-page ‘zine is a copy shop creation with a teal cover that serves as a low-budget teaser for the upcoming MICRO-FILM, “The Magazine of Personal Cinema in Action.” Novice self-publisher Jason Pankoke draws the content from his recent interactions with participants in the American “film festival circuit” as well as science-fiction and horror fandom; interview subjects include Scary Monsters Magazine publisher Dennis Druktenis from the Chicago suburb of Highwood, Oregon-based stop-motion animator Suzanne Twining, and filmmaker and photographer Brien Burroughs of San Francisco. Short subjects created by the latter two were introduced to a Champaign-Urbana audience during the first Freaky Film Festival in 1997. “Many of the films in MICRO-FILM will be raw and unpolished,” writes Pankoke in a “Save the Mirth” editorial. “Some will be experimental and abstract. Most will be far from perfect, at least according to the standards of mainstream critics and cinema historians. However, all belong to the century-old history of motion picture making, and this history deserves to be fleshed out by recording what is going on in the grassroots, the backyards, and the underground. In this case, size doesn’t matter. Your films do.” A second “stepping stone” issue to be called MICRO-FILM 101 is promoted in The Warning Shot but never comes to fruition. As reported on 3/7/09 at CUBlog. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Golden Corral, Springfield, IL
Central Illinois Film Commission* meeting (3/7, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. meeting)

@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UI Japanese Animation Club presents UI-CON* animation and comics convention (3/2-3/3) Information

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
CU International Film Festival* (3/2, 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. films, free w/ticket) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE CHOSEN: S4, Ep. 7-8 (faith programming), DUNE: PART TWO, OPERATION VALENTINE (in Telugu with English sub), ARGYLLE, ARTICLE 20 (in Mandarin with English sub), BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE, DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA – TO THE HASHIRA TRAINING (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS, MADAME WEB, ORDINARY ANGELS, PEGASUS 2 (in Mandarin with English sub) (3/1 on), Oscar 2024 hopefuls: BARBIE* (3/1, 3/7), THE HOLDOVERS* (3/1, 3/4), OPPENHEIMER* (3/1, 3/5), AMERICAN FICTION* (3/2, 3/5), POOR THINGS* (3/2, 3/7), KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON* (3/2, 3/4), ANATOMY OF A FALL* (3/3, 3/6), THE ZONE OF INTEREST* (3/3, 3/6), and PAST LIVES* (3/3), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (3/4, 7 p.m.), CABRINI, IMAGINARY, KUNG FU PANDA 4 (animation) (3/7 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ALL OF US STRANGERS, THE CHOSEN: S4, Ep. 7-8 (faith programming), DUNE: PART TWO, AMERICAN FICTION, ANYONE BUT YOU, ARGYLLE, BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE, DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA – TO THE HASHIRA TRAINING (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS, MADAME WEB, MIGRATION (animation), ORDINARY ANGELS, POOR THINGS, WONKA (3/1 on), THE LAND BEFORE TIME (animation) (3/3, 3, 5 & 7 p.m.; 3/6, 5 & 7 p.m.), CABRINI, IMAGINARY, KUNG FU PANDA 4 (animation) (3/7 on)

@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2024 Weekend Films” feat. TROLLS BAND TOGETHER, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (3/1-3/2, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
COLD MEAT, SNOW WHITE AND THE 7 SAMURAI, more! (2/27 on) Online rentals

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series” feat. KUNG FU PANDA 4 pre-release screening (3/5, 7 p.m., free)

Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!

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Read the rest of this entry »

Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!

2/8: Robin Christian (producer/director, A FARGO CHRISTMAS STORY, Dreamscape Cinema, Champaign, IL)

PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

1/13: Larry Williams, forever “Lonesome Larry” (co-founder, “The Whip” (WWHP 98.3 FM), Farmer City, IL)
1/20: Sean Michael “Mike” Unland, 50 (owner, Mike Unland Photography and Videography, Springfield, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

Our Report is flush with screening news for you! First comes a press release for the annual Insect Fear Film Festival, which will be put on for its 41st year by the Entomology Graduate Student Association at the University of Illinois on the last Saturday of the month, February 24, at the UI Foellinger Auditorium. With a theme of “Ant-Men” this year, the presentation will couple the animated film, THE ANT BULLY, and the partly-animated-by-CGI hit, Marvel’s ANT-MAN, with the traditional science displays and kids’ activities in the foyer; doors open at 5:30 p.m., the movies will be introduced at 7:30 p.m., and entry is free for all. Then, we’re reminded by implicit hints via Facebook that the Arlee Theater of Mason City, located halfway between Peoria and Springfield and just off of Route 10, is sponsoring the Short Film Fest and accepting entries until February 10 that run 15 minutes or less and are family friendly; visit their website for more details on the event, which is scheduled for Friday, February 23. To close, Confidential agent C-Day let us know there is a film series, curated by the prolific pop culture author Marc Eliot, which is playing every Friday and Sunday between this weekend and March 10 at the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s Giant Screen Theater; starring some of Hollywood’s giants and informed by Eliot’s biographies on them, the showings began today, Friday, February 2, with Dennis Hopper in EASY RIDER and will continue weekly with CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (Jack Nicholson), THE CHINA SYNDROME (Michael Douglas), ROMANCING THE STONE (also Douglas), A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (Clint Eastwood), and UNFORGIVEN (also Eastwood). Billed as the “largest film society screen in the country,” the Giant Screen Theater recently received a $350,000 grant for upgrades to the screen, sound system, and projection capabilities.

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
ANATOMY OF A FALL, ARGYLLE, THE CHOSEN: S4, Ep. 1-3 (faith programming), THE ZONE OF INTEREST (in German with English sub), AMERICAN FICTION, ANYONE BUT YOU, THE BEEKEEPER, THE EQUALIZER 3, FIGHTER (in Hindi with English sub), MEAN GIRLS, MIGRATION (animation), POOR THINGS, WONKA (2/2 on), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery horror movie) (2/5, 7 p.m.), AX Cinema Nights: PAPRIKA (animé) (2/7, 7:30 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 2/8, 7:30 p.m., English dub), LISA FRANKENSTEIN, OUT OF DARKNESS (2/8 on)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ARGYLLE, THE CHOSEN: S4, Ep. 1-3 (faith programming), AMERICAN FICTION, ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE BEEKEEPER, THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, THE IRON CLAW, MEAN GIRLS, MIGRATION (animation), NIGHT SWIM, OPPENHEIMER, POOR THINGS, WONKA (2/2 on), MY FAIR LADY 60th anniversary (2/4, 1 & 7 p.m.; 2/5, 7 p.m.), ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (2/4, 3 & 7 p.m.; 2/7, 7 p.m.), LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2/8 on)

@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2024 Weekend Films” feat. WISH, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (2/2-2/3, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)

@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
DARK PARASITE, A PICTURE OF HER, THEY CALL HER HEADHUNTER, TROLLS WORLD TOUR, WELCOME TO VALENTINE, more! (1/30 on) Online rentals

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series” feat. THE BLUES BROTHERS (2/8, 7 p.m.)

Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!

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Read the rest of this entry »

Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!

12/25: Shea Kelly (producer/host, FILMWAR! YouTube channel, A Thousand Yard Stare Productions, Decatur, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

We’ve decided to remain studious for one more week and fill today’s Report with musings about alumni from downstate Illinois colleges whom we’ve recently seen referenced. Last month on an episode of the SATURDAY MORNING news magazine, aired by CBS-TV, author and ScreenCrush editor Matt Singer was interviewed about his new book on the professional and personal relationship between Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, Opposable Thumbs, published in October by G. P. Putnam’s Sons; segment host Dana Jacobson visited with Singer in Chicago about the late film critics and their undeniable influence on pop culture media that arguably persists to this day. And last week, Liam Gaughan of Collider filed a top-ten listicle that suggests the best screen roles of Richard Jenkins, the well-respected actor often cited by reviewers and journalists as a most valuable player in ensemble casts; Oscar-nominated for his lead performance in THE VISITORS from 2008 as well as his supporting role in THE SHAPE OF WATER from 2017, Jenkins is probably the highest-profile graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University in the film business other than Bill Damaschke, who accepted a top position at Warner Bros. over the summer after a long career with DreamWorks Animation. Ye Ed will never reach these heights as a fellow IWU Titan.

Also last week, Mr. JaPan looked at the website for Michael Wiese Productions to see if they had posted anything in regards to founder Michael Wiese, who passed away in March due to complications from Parkinson’s disease; loving words for the Urbana native, University of Illinois alumnus, student contemporary of Ebert, and film producer are offered in his memory by Ken Lee, Alexander Ward, and Geraldine Overton, Wiese’s wife, who will be stewards of the MWP and Divine Arts imprints as the company moves onward and upward. And, just last night, CUBlog friend Jenny Southlynn shared on the socials that UI graduate, Sioux Nation artist and educator, and Native American activist Charlene Teters will be returning to campus on March 21 in the new year for an award ceremony at Temple Buell Hall and a reception at the Link Gallery, both hosted by the School of Art & Design; her efforts to publicly counter the fictional narrative cast over Champaign-Urbana by the former UI sports mascot, a composite Indian persona used for surface-level pageantry and merchandising, were chronicled in the 1998 documentary IN WHOSE HONOR? directed by the now-retired UI professor Jay Rosenstein. His film’s needful look at all sides of the representation issue is still relevant, even as the good fight draws ever so slowly to a conclusion, and Teters’ lecture on the 21st is certain to speak volumes on all fronts. Listen to them.

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

BLACK MOLD* U.S. Streaming Release: Thursday, December 7, exclusively on Tubi via Raven Banner Entertainment, Toronto, ON/The Line Film Company-Shatterglass Films-Head Trauma Productions, Rantoul/Champaign/Chicago, IL-Oshkosh, WI

@ The Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL
FIELDS OF GOLD* exclusive run (documentary) (12/26, 3 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE IRON CLAW, MIGRATION, POOR THINGS, SALAAR PART 1: CEASEFIRE (in Hindi or Telugu with English sub), THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WONKA (12/22 on), THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (12/24 on), THE COLOR PURPLE, FERRARI (12/25 on),

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ANYONE BUT YOU, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, THE IRON CLAW, MIGRATION, POOR THINGS, THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, NAPOLEON, SALTBURN, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WISH (12/22 on), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (12/24, 1, 4 & 7 p.m.), THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, FERRARI (12/24 on), THE COLOR PURPLE (12/25 on)

@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
AMERICA IS SINKING, FAST CHARLIE, LIZARD PEOPLE (kiosk), more! (12/19 on) Online rentals

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
No movies this week!

Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!

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Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.

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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!

12/8: CJay Wallace (cohost, Robots Don’t Age! podcast, Champaign, IL)
12/8: Britten Traughber (photographer, Britten Traughber Photography, Tucson, AZ)
12/10: Sidney Taiko (editor/publisher, Storm Cellar, San Diego, CA)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

With a monotone Ben Stein utterance of “Report” under our collective breath, CUBlog presents the first of two entries on film and media doings at our academic institutions, just in time for fall semester to conclude and college kids to cram their damnedest while studying. Item one, the College of Media at UIUC posted about a “film poem” made by faculty members Victor Font and Cristobal Bianchi, FACTORIES AT SEA, being selected for several film festivals internationally and showcased during a function of the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies in October. Item two, Illinois State University professor John McHale and Normal resident Xavier Jackson, a registered nurse, talked with Lauren Warnecke of WGLT radio last month about the award received by their joint screenplay, “Nurses Versus the Virus,” which draws from Jackson’s experiences during the pandemic as a medical professional and African-American man. Item three, theater instructor and film producer Tom Quinn has seriously upgraded the status of Illinois Wesleyan University as a viable option for students who wish to learn or refine their visual storytelling skills; the liberal arts institution in Bloomington reported that several underclassmen projects have once again won awards through the online Top Shorts Film Festival. Among the shorts cited earlier in the fall are SUSPICIONS, written by Stephen Nickisch and winner of five categories, and HAND ME DOWN, written by Ethan Smith and co-directed by IWU graduate Justin Piotrowski, which nabbed a “Best Horror” nod and separately bowed at the Days of the Dead Chicago horror convention a couple of weeks ago.

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DIE HARD (re-release), ANIMAL (in Hindi with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE MARVELS, NAPOLEON, OPPENHEIMER, THE SHIFT (faith film), SILENT NIGHT, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WISH (animation) (12/8 on), RENAISSANCE (Beyoncé concert film) (12/8-12/10, 12/14), THANKSGIVING (12/8-12/9), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (12/11, 7 p.m.), AX Cinema Nights: TOKYO GODFATHERS 20th anniversary (animé) (12/11, 12/13, 7:30 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 12/12, 7:30 p.m., English dub), “Christmas with THE CHOSEN: Holy Night” (12/12-12/14, 2 & 7:30 p.m.), TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (concert film) (12/13, 4:30 p.m.), WONKA (12/14 on)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ANIMAL (in Hindi with English sub), THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), THE CELLO, EILEEN, THE OATH, DREAM SCENARIO*, GODZILLA MINUS ONE (in Japanese with English sub), THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES, THE MARVELS, NAPOLEON, SALTBURN, THE SHIFT (faith film), SILENT NIGHT, THANKSGIVING, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (animation), WISH (animation) (12/8 on), RENAISSANCE (Beyoncé concert film) (12/8-12/10), Waitress* (filmed stage performance) (12/8-12/11), OPPENHEIMER* (12/8-12/12), The Metropolitan Opera: Florencia en el Amazonas (12/9, 11:55 a.m., simulcast; 12/13, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), A CHRISTMAS STORY 40th anniversary (12/10, 4 & 7 p.m.; 12/13, 7 p.m.), Flashback Cinema: NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (12/10, 3 & 7 p.m.; 12/13, 7 p.m.), “Christmas with THE CHOSEN: Holy Night” (12/12-12/14, 2 & 7:30 p.m.), WONKA (12/14 on)

@ Redbox (streaming), Champaign-Urbana, IL
THE DOG LOVER’S GUIDE TO DATING, LORD OF MISRULE, UNIT 262, WAIKIKI, more! (12/5 on) Online rentals

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
“Holiday in Whoville 2023” feat. HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966) (12/10, 1-4 p.m., hourly)

Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!

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Even though we shared our handy Confidential Almanac entries on these topics a few weeks ago, I decided to not let their milestones go by without a few fresh comments. Has any single day in recorded Champaign-Urbana history been more fortified with movie achievement than March 28, 1973, when different groups of University of Illinois students released the first issue of a cinema journal, MacGuffin, and premiered a feature-length action comedy, SHOT, in the space of less than twenty-four hours? I’d argue the one-two debut was probably the nascent beginning of homegrown creation in this realm that amounted to something, no matter what had been attempted or enjoyed in the C-U up until then.

Unfortunately, not much has been made of either since their creators slaved hard with limited means and production knowledge to put out the most readable/watchable media expression that they could. We gave MacGuffin a spotlight in C-U Confidential #10 thanks to the insight of then-UI undergraduate James Hall, and yours truly reviewed the Vinegar Syndrome re-release of SHOT on Blu-ray and DVD when it entered their catalog in mid-2018. To my knowledge, other than a public screening idea being contemplated behind the scenes by a good friend of CUBlog, there are no plans by any citizens du C-U to do anything for the occasion. I can’t tell you how badly I feel my hands are tied in regards to these anniversaries and a few more significant dates in the near future, given that I don’t have immediate plans to move back.

The best I can do through CUBlog is encourage you, you, and you to explore our world in film through stories, reprints, links, and whatever else can be shared virtually. It’s up to my former neighbors to be hands on and make something of it for the community today. Nothing lasts forever, though, even when it’s revived. During the week we ran the Almanacs, I confirmed with a contact at Vinegar Syndrome, which specializes in preserving obscure and cult cinema for multi-platform viewing, that their disc of SHOT will go out of print later in 2023; this should coincide with the film being dropped by the American Genre Film Archive for theatrical rentals and Tubi for ad-supported free streaming. Don’t let the ”pigs” Ross and Wilson get any more peeved by missing out on their exploits – take your SHOT today!

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A good number of student-made media from the SHOT era has probably not survived. In that respect, we should be fortunate the Student Life and Culture Archives and the Literature and Languages Library on the UIUC campus decided to retain copies of MacGuffin and related materials for their collection. It’s discussed even less often than SHOT, which receives the occasional mention from producer Nate Kohn in interviews and garnered a handful of respectable critiques from online writers seeing it for the first time thanks to Vinegar Syndrome, and I have yet to find any sort of modern analysis or recollection outside of CUZine. Film societies and filmmaking groups have come and gone from the RSO roster since at least the 1940s, yet MacGuffin is easily the most distinct ephemera to show us in the present how young people at UI regarded the cinema during their formative years.

Without acting as flies on the walls of modern classrooms, how can we find out what film means in the formative years of today’s collegiate learners? Tonight, Thursday, April 27, Illinois State University debuts the Foxtail Film Festival at the Normal Theater in downtown Normal starting at 7 p.m. by discussing the craft with ISU alums and professional filmmakers Doug Spilotro and Griffin Hammond; tomorrow’s 7 p.m. show will present ISU student films and Saturday’s 7 p.m. finale will be a competition program with work by students enrolled at ISU and elsewhere. In Urbana, the UI Spurlock Museum of World Cultures will host a pair of similar events one week apart, the annual UIUC Film Festival at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, April 28, and the new MACS Student Showcase at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, both organized through the College of Media. Consult the activity calendars of institutes near you for more opportunities.

Happily, my delay in posting this piece when it should have gone live on the 50th anniversary of SHOT and MacGuffin a month ago means that its appearance today is timely in a different way that still matters. We all follow various personalities in film, television, and media who’ve earned many credits but have deleted their earliest work from professional resumes for whatever reasons. In my less-humble-than-usual opinion, there is little harm in referencing your start as long as you’re learning, achieving, sharing, and moving forward. Growth, for lack of a better word, is good.

~ Jason Pankoke

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One of these eons, I might share a few anecdotes about the strangest ways I’ve obtained a remnant or product related to the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. I take it seriously enough because of how little I’ve found over the two decades we have produced MICRO-FILM and C-U Blogfidential that is not in the form of newspaper articles or event fliers. Each and every piece can help to augment our posts whether it is predictable or one of a kind. Yet, the stories of how I arrive at the stories are often the exact opposite of astonishing. It’s a bit hard in 2021 to get stoked over a relevant listing on eBay I wasn’t expecting, but now at least I can tell you about a new book that notes a local milestone.

The international educational publisher Springer Nature, through its Springer imprint based in Heidelberg, Germany, released in April an impressive volume called The Cinema in Flux: The Evolution of Motion Picture Technology from the Magic Lantern to the Digital Era. Available at Amazon as of yesterday, Tuesday, May 11, the 817-page behemoth is written by the venerated author, filmmaker, and innovator Lenny Lipton, whose research and development led to advancements in stereoscopic imagery such as the RealD three-dimensional projection used in thousands of movie theaters worldwide. Eighty-three chapters trace the development of cinema from its primitive forms of the 1600s to digital adaptions in the present, as stated in a Springer press release from last week, with an effort made to elucidate on the numerous individuals whose work paved the way and their impact on society the world over.

How does it point to the C-U? One of the two men highlighted in Chapter 29, “One Man Bands,” is the late University of Illinois electrical engineering professor Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner (1877-1969). We’ve talked about his sound-on-film development in the past and highlighted it at the New Art Film Festival. The other, an inventor from France named Eugène Augustin Lauste (1857-1935), made various attempts to develop a viable sound-on-film system by working both independently with colleagues in England and Europe and at American companies such as Thomas A. Edison and Bell Laboratories, according to Lipton. It’s nice to see them singled out with recognition instead of a mere mention or two.

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Clearly, a very grateful audience will pay $40 per eBook and $55 per hardcover to pour through Lipton’s grasp on technological advancements in the motion picture. Apart from the contextual wealth it is bound to provide researchers, historians, and gear aficionados, The Cinema in Flux is illustrated with nearly 600 pictures – note the Tykociner portrait at the head of our post, cropped from a collage appearing at the author’s website and flanked by Edison and the Lumière brothers – and begins with an introduction from another Hollywood pioneer, Douglas Trumbull, whose influential visual effects are found in the likes of BLADE RUNNER, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, SILENT RUNNING, THE TREE OF LIFE, BRAINSTORM, and – you know I’m obliged to go here – 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

It could easily be argued that Tykociner managed a sort of visual effect with his experiments, presenting subjects on his screen who could actually make noise in real time as they spoke and played instruments. A few years after the NAFF gave its audience a chance to watch an admittedly low-grade copy of the demonstration reel left behind by Tykociner, the National Film Preservation Foundation provided the means to create a much better transfer of the footage and its soundtrack. You can watch the startling results at the UIUC Media Space portal and, if not springing for The Cinema in Flux, view the video short embedded here and read this evergreen article by Bethany Anderson at the University of Illinois Archives website for more on Tykociner’s achievement and legacy.

~ Jason Pankoke

p.s. A different Springer Nature imprint that specializes in the humanities and social sciences, Palgrave Macmillan, is the home of Media Audiences and Identity: Self-Construction in the Fan Experience by Dr. Steven Bailey. It’s the one that dissects the dynamics of localized do-it-yourself culture using, as its case study, the long-gone C-U Freaky Film Festival. Yours truly earned a few mentions in the chapter as well.

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“Spirits in an Intermediate World”
Memories of fictive fantasma and sequestered students filter through a closed flagship campus.

by Jason Pankoke

I don’t believe in ghosts or the afterlife. I do believe the specters of human experience waft about our very being and are inextricably anchored to everything shaped by our tools, hands, and minds. Sitting at my mother’s house as I write the current run of C-U Blogfidential, any glance upward is to a space that I have known for many years and can subtly remember how it was once different and more populated than now with just the two of us. I easily imagine a similar sense of displacement if I was living among all my friends and neighbors of Champaign-Urbana in this “new normal,” had family crises not steered me to a different path. My guess is walking through a business district that should be teeming with bodies on warmer May days like these is akin to traversing, for lack of a clever euphemism, a ghost town. I’m sure that I would have a visceral reaction to the ongoing emptiness of familiar streets, sidewalks, and hangouts.

The cumulative effect is more pronounced if one wanders among the storied structures on the University of Illinois campus, I guarantee it. Normally at this time of year, I’d secretly look forward to summer break because I find it pleasant to explore the terrain halved by Wright Street when it’s dialed down in bustle, especially the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts sector. Other than the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters and parks, no place is calmer to me between June and August in the C-U than a chair outside Espresso Royale on Goodwin Avenue as a hazy sun drops behind the Main Quad skyline. Even in the most tranquil moment with a perfect sip of java, it can still feel incomplete. I react slightly to chatter over my shoulder that isn’t happening. I redirect my eyes to a distant street when I know that no one comes or goes. I anticipate the comfort of Altgeld Hall chimes an eternity longer than usual.

Right now, we can’t experience those lingering interactions with our environments at any length due to the shelter-in-place order. I wonder how UIUC seniors are coping with their college experiences coming to a makeshift end as a “virtual celebration” on Saturday, May 16. Hopefully, they built up enough positive experiences to take with them and revel in for some time. Should any return to their alma mater in a future less restrictive, those individualized echoes will be unlocked and flow freely. It’s not just about the notions, however. Spaced between dusty volumes and glass-encased displays is unheralded history with more definition but less hard evidence, dismissed perennially by generations of underclassmen, graduate students, academics, and civil servants. I can choose to not believe in ghosts and still be intrigued by the ways that locals and the campus community process the preternatural.

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Two months ago, while compiling our post on area programs and projects that are designed for young people, we realized a follow-up for a slightly older crowd might be in order. Since they’re now at the Urbana campus en masse and settled into their routines as students at the University of Illinois (UIUC), we can proceed with suggestions! However, a lot has already transpired that would have made for good examples of the happenings they should look forward to while enrolled here – Deke Weaver’s Unreliable Bestiary performance “Tiger,” the Roger and Chaz Ebert Symposium on diversifying the work force in media, Illinois Public Media’s sneak preview of their television special ILLINOIS COUNTRY, and on – so we’ll instead point out the weekly constants on campus, serving as anchor points for getting involved in film from the production, appreciation, and critical perspectives.

Every Monday night at 7 p.m., the durable Illini Film & Video meets in Room 1022 of Lincoln Hall on the Main Quad. Formed roughly 20 years ago by engineering undergraduates Michael Stone and Andrew McAllister, IFV brings together students from all backgrounds and capabilities to try out the filmmaking process on both club and personal projects. The IFV boards of the past few years have reinstated a fast tempo and process-oriented approach to their weekly meetings, ensuring that members get their feet wet with tutorials, challenges, and fundraising when not pitching ideas or recruiting for shoots. Professionals may drop by or Skype in to talk with the club about their specialties, while some IFV alumni will apply their developing media skills in various fields after graduation. You can view their details on the IFV website, skim Facebook announcements for opportunities, and watch the resulting videos on YouTube.

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Two other groups meet on Friday evenings. The second-year RSO called C-U Cinefile gathers at 4 p.m. in Room 219 of Gregory Hall to plan activities that will explore film through screenings, discussions, and the making of video essays and narrative shorts. You can see examples of their efforts on YouTube, including a timely round of slasher film reviews, and camaraderie on Facebook. For those students who want to make a night out of it after a long week of classes, the third-year RSO named For Art’s Sake has booked an international film classic almost every Friday this semester at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall of the Armory Building, Room 101, which satisfy thematic groupings as decided by graduate student Carson Wang and friends. Tomorrow’s feature is a well-known example of “fifth generation” Chinese filmmaking, the Peking-set period epic FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE (1993) directed by Chen Kaige and starring Gong Li, to be followed next Friday, October 25, by IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN (1994). You can click the graphic below to enlarge and read their remaining schedule.

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With the sting of reality wearing off, she moves back into the night while dressed the part so she can hide in plain sight as a liaison nears. The scenario is initially lost on a dapper duo who happen upon the scene of silent urgency. Is it loneliness, solitude, reflection, or yet another crime developing in the wings?

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Pregnant pauses give way to delicious details and arresting actions in the 10th edition of C-U Confidential, which has been appearing at familiar drop points as of Thursday, July 18. Be adventurous in seeking out your local film coverage in print or frequent our Facebook to pinpoint their whereabouts in record time!

It could be a red herring that brings our forlorn informant Drea Abbas to this particular corner in this particular place, but it provides the first crumb of a brand new trail for young reporters Keenan Dailey and Katherine Bokenkamp to pick up on. You are more than welcome to also follow along as the saga of the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond continues in CUZine! Punk culture aficionado and university professor David Gracon lends his radical voice to a discussion of Hallways Microcinema, an events venue of his own creation that drew together a necessary community through needful arts in his former Champaign home. Across the classroom, undergraduate James Hall teaches us through his examination of the MacGuffin journal from the 1970s that film analysis does not have to be a lost art on the University of Illinois campus or anywhere else. Well beyond the walls of academia, Ye Ed marvels at the downtown Decatur mainstay that is the Avon Theater and coaxes its resident head honcho Skip Huston to share a few views on its relevance. Mr. JaPan also takes an opportunity to wax about the tracks once blazed by the Death Riders Motorcycle Thrill Show, while both he and Troy Michael admit that the times are a-changing. Many more tidbits fill the nooks and crannies of issue 10!

We will have plenty to say about what lies ahead for CUZine in the future as we’re still gnawing over the laborious and miraculous manner in which we arrived at publishing this issue. Until then, we must give credit where it is due! Tip your fedora to the likes of Bachelor Pad Magazine, Champaign Movie Makers, Cinema Gallery, C-U Theater History, Damian Duffy After Dark, Dreamscape Studio, Happy Cloud Media, Itty Bitty Bike Shop, Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival, Parasol Records, Premier Print Group, Re-nourish, RiellyBoy Productions, Skullface Astronaut, and Underground Film Journal for representing their wares and services in our pages as well as the more than 30 individuals who offered their valuable dollars to our GoFundMe drive. Without that combined support, we’d be sitting here twiddling our thumbs in utter dismay instead of flipping through freshly-inked digests with a sigh of relief. We must be doing something worthwhile in the long run to earn their trust even if we’re forever fumbling through the process, and also hope you appreciate the fruits of everyone’s contributions this round. Even though our attentions will now turn to another “10” in the form of the New Art Film Festival, we’re not allowing C-U Confidential to lay low this time. There are findings to proclaim, adjustments to make, and calls for your words to be announced!

~ Jason Pankoke

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Wait a moment… Her face looked familiar in the Facebook post that scrolled into view. Do I recognize that name? The last time I stopped at MFHQ I had grabbed the old guides for research reasons, so I flipped through them to make sure I remembered it right. Sure enough! We knew each other during her college years as she peripherally brightened a part of my Champaign-Urbana world with her pleasant personality and helpful spirit. Like many young people who came to town and attended the University of Illinois, she soon moved away and moved on. It was refreshing to see her appear in my news feed, but there is more to the story. A mutual friend wanted to alert the C-U faithful to her plight. I’d like to do the same here.

If you know me, you know the Freaky Film Festival is a seminal (and increasingly singular) occurrence in my personal history. This includes all the individuals who volunteered to organize the event, whether or not we’ve kept in touch, and it can still be a gut punch when you learn any of them are in trouble. I’ll ask you to visit this GoFundMe campaign sooner rather than later to see how financial support might benefit a former Freaky Film staffer, Lesli Putman, and her daughter, Sterling. The page goes into clear detail on what is happening with Lesli and the red flags associated with her aggressive form of cancer, so, I won’t attempt to rephrase it. Please help me help a former cinema accomplice and her family.

If you know me, you also know that I’ve been more focused on health and well-being issues as of late. While this article is first and foremost about Lesli’s care and her child’s future, I can’t help but reflect on what I’ve witnessed while staying with and aiding Ma JaPan and my stepfather for the past two years. He has weathered Parkinson’s disease for nearly three decades and now resides in a VA retirement community. She has been stable for several months after moving past numerous hospital and recovery stays over a year-and-a-half-long period. I could stand to shave some pounds off, reduce the chance of recurring gout with diet, and sleep more soundly as we finally decide how to meet Ma’s daily needs.

The three of us have been lucky in financial terms, given the combined circumstances, and I’m not blind to how the lack of money and resources drastically hampers the health of many thousands of Americans every single day. This obviously is a major hurt on Lesli no matter how well she responds to treatment. This arguably played a role in the inadvertent passing 10 years ago last Friday, May 24, of Urbana musician Jay Bennett, who could only afford fentanyl patches to ease his pain instead of undergoing the hip replacement surgery he sorely needed. This possibly compromised the chances of my acquaintance J. T., a woman with a family who juggled retail and service industry jobs, to rise above a history of addiction that ultimately bested her at age 24. You have certainly heard about if not directly experienced a heart-rending episode like these. We want our fellow citizens to meet a better fate, yes?

The films, arts, hobbies, functions, vacations, work hours, and politics must be set aside at times to focus on family members, friends, and neighbors who need a positive push so they might weather their health-related storms. Be decent and compassionate at the very least and proactive as much as you can muster.

~ Jason Pankoke

p.s. I thought it not applicable to dress up this piece with goofy Freaky Film ephemera or press pictures of Bennett that I don’t have permission to use. Calm landscapes of the Illinois Valley farmland by yours truly will have to do. You can surely find an appropriate metaphor in them if you dig your spade in the earth.

p.s.2 After the image below, we provide links to various agencies and directories that could help you and yours with health needs.

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IDES in Champaign County
Champaign County Health District
Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, Health Care directory
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
Planned Parenthood of Illinois in Champaign
Developmental Services Center

Carle Foundation Hospital
Christie Clinic
OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center

American Red Cross
Health Insurance Marketplace

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“Mildly resigned” is probably the best phrase to describe your humble editor’s reactions as he sees news items from afar about local businesses closing, opening, and changing hands. He knows this is standard phenomena in the life cycle of the ever-changing college town, but it can still feel like a gut punch when it comes to favorite places ceasing to be in the space of a blunt headline in a Web browser. Such is the case with current reports on the imminent shutdown of the Espresso Royale branch at 602 E. Daniel Street in Champaign after tomorrow, Friday, May 17, which he will not get to visit one last time.

Coffee, pastries, and companionship can still be had at the eight other ER locations in Champaign-Urbana and there is a potential for this one to reemerge in the mixed-use monolith rumored to be in the works for that corner of Daniel and Sixth. We will still be sad to see it, an agreeable non-major chain located in a unique two-level layout with a central stairwell, vanish from Campustown. ER was not Ye Ed’s first choice for spending down time with caffeine during his first years in town – The Daily Grind and Café Kopi filled the need – but he grew to enjoy its well-lit openness during slow weekends and the summer months. Now, it will join a laundry list of local establishments consigned to memory.

We don’t have to completely rely on our private and shared recollections, selfies, and ephemera to appreciate ER on Daniel and other nostalgic beats. Have you ever considered how the indigenous cinema “accidentally” records local history, culture, and architecture that can be plucked back out in the proper context years later? A recent marathon of work on C-U Confidential issue 10 by yours truly included the writing of a “Retro/Perspective” coda about what our film culture looked like in 2006, the year we founded C-U Blogfidential. It so happens that one of the old projects mentioned in the piece, which we also have been revisiting for another article to post here shortly, features an appearance by this ER.

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Unlike the past couple of years, even though you know exactly where to head and find all the pertinent information, we’re actually sharing with you the schedule for the ninth annual New Art Film Festival in plenty of time for you to see who’s whats will be appearing – where else? – at the Art Theater, 126 W. Church St., in downtown Champaign, IL, on Monday, October 29. And, unlike the entire history of the NAFF up until now, this edition will play like a single two-and-a-half hour marathon with a 15-minute break built into the program courtesy of content manager Luke Boyce of Shatterglass Studios in Champaign. Your humble editor will step up to the mic and speak his peace at the beginning and end of the evening, of course, when he is guaranteed to thank all those who help anchor the NAFF in place every year for our neighbors and film artists to enjoy. They include our new Art contacts, head programmer Dora Valkanova (a past NAFF photographer) and Art Film Foundation executive director Porshé R. Garner, as well as our old friends Jason and Lisa Cerezo of ThirdSide in Champaign, for providing upkeep on our Web presence and cool graphics to enhance our public presence. Look and listen closely for NAFF cameos to surface very soon in our lovely local media and make sure you have us marked on whatever you use to save the dates these days for our free community event. Are you in, dearest viewers? Well, then! Expect to shake off your Monday blues from 7 to 10 p.m. on the 29th while we celebrate the cinema that we produce in Champaign, Urbana, and beyond. Onward!

~ Jason Pankoke

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