C-U Blogfidential

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!

6/10: Allen Richards (publisher, B-Independent.com, VA)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

Now that we’re back in this space, Ye Ed tells us that we should Report. So, Report we shall. First up is the obvious one – there’s a new feature film that is currently on location in Piatt and Ford counties, as many of you have probably seen by now on social media and through the local press. CHILI FINGER is described as a dark comedy in previous articles by The Hollywood Reporter and Reel Chicago and is directed by Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad of Beyond the Porch, LLC, in Los Angeles, who are teaming with the LA post-production house Gold Tree Studios on the picture. Written by Helstad, the story is about a woman played by Judy Greer who claims to find a human finger in her order at a fast-food restaurant and attempts to cash in on it; John Goodman, Sean Astin, and Bryan Cranston also have roles in the film, the rights for which will be sold internationally at the American Film Market and so on once it’s finished. There is no word that we’ve found about how long the production will be in the area or if they might hit the C-U, but the residents and city leaders of Monticello and Paxton are clearly loving the limelight so far.

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While it will be some time before CHILI FINGER can be seen, we have mere days to wait before we can start watching the television series REVIVAL, a pet project of prolific indie producer Aaron B. Koontz and our own Luke Boyce of Shatterglass Films and Flyover Film Studios, on SyFy. Adapted from the acclaimed series by writer Tim Seely, artist Mike Norton, and publisher Image Comics, the Canada-lensed show will debut next Thursday, June 12, at 9 p.m. CST on the cable channel and each episode will be available to stream on Peacock one week after its debut. The show follows a rural Wisconsin police officer played by Melanie Scrofano, star of SyFy’s previous hit WYNONNA EARP, as she witnesses the phenomena of the recently deceased coming back to life including her sister. Executive producers and showrunners Boyce and Koontz talked with Tara Bennett of SyFy Wire about switching gears from an independently mounted, feature-length treatment to serialized storytelling for the NBC sister network and briefly brought up REVEALER, the religion-and-end-times thriller that Shatterglass and The Line Film Co. made covertly in the C-U during a low ebb in pursuing this project. REVIVAL also stars David James Elliott, Romy Weltman, and Stephen Ogg along with Chicago native Phil Brooks, famously known as CM Punk.

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Finally, John Isberg of Swede Films in Champaign announced during our hiatus that, despite all signs leading many to believe that FINAL SUMMER PART II was on deck, his next production will actually be a horror-comedy called BIG MUDDY and take its inspiration from the regional legends of sasquatch-type creatures. Isberg and team are gearing up for a late summer shoot this year and will launch an Indiegogo campaign on July 3, right after they venture to southern Illinois and partake in the annual Big Muddy Monster Fest of Murphrysboro on Saturday, June 21. According to the Internet Movie Database, Isberg has already cast a good group of Midwest indie horror regulars for BIG MUDDY such as FINAL SUMMER actors Myles Valentine, Seth Boyer, and Bishop Stevens, ATTACK OF THE CORN ZOMBIES and GRINNERS standout Magdalena Conway, STRANGER THINGS veteran and UIUC professor Aaron Muñoz, BLACK MOLD’s Andrew Bailes, and Nathan Brandon Gaik, the towering talent from Bloomington-Normal who will portray “Big Muddy” akin to his turn as the title fiend in Paul A. Brooks’ HUNTING FOR THE HAG, albeit with a more mellow vibe. Also set to appear are Ari Lehman from the original FRIDAY THE 13TH and Oliver Robbins from the original POLTERGEIST. Look for more “Big” news when we get it in…

IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen

Well, that was inspiring to see. Your humble editor escaped the house on the edge of an American small town for a spell and attended the first Savoy Lumière at the Savoy 16 + IMAX over the weekend. I only was able to sit in for three shows, but I saw good things and said hello to a few familiar faces. It will be of great interest to see how this endeavor matures and the C-U responds over time. An admirably devoted Daily Illini student writer, Anna Williams, went as well and filed multiple reports on all days of the event starting with this one. Amy Penne has also had the Lumière pulse and shared this notice at Smile Politely on the Audience Award winners tallied up after the screening of SALLY. Below are a few pictures I took on Saturday, May 31, before and during the last show of the day, THE OTHER PEOPLE, a very low-key spooker about a family who gets more than they bargained for in their new home. Seated at the check-in table is Thomas Nicol, who has coordinated with the Savoy 16 in the past on behalf of his sadly departed Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival, and sitting up front with festival director Nat Dykeman in Theater 8 is the festival guest Chad McClarnon who directed, co-wrote, and co-produced THE OTHER PEOPLE for his company, Best Part Productions of Nashville, Tennessee. We’re still going to look at a few aspects of the Lumière and cinema-going in the C-U over the next few weeks before moving on, so stay tuned.

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LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Fire Doll Studio, Champaign, IL
UI Flatlands Dance Film Festival and Krannert Art Museum present “Good House Keep Film Screening” feat. Laura Chiaramonte (6/11, 6:30 p.m., free)

@ Gallery Art Bar, Urbana, IL
UI Flatlands Dance Film Festival presents “Experimental Dance Film Performance and Talkback” feat Laura Chiaramonte, Matt Harsh, and Tessa Olson (6/10, 7 p.m., free)

@ Illini Union Ballroom, UIUC, Urbana, IL
The African Kinship Reunion (TAKiR) present BOUND: AFRICANS VS. AFRICAN-AMERICANS documentary screening w/filmmaker Peres Owino (6/14, 5 p.m., free w/reservation) Tickets

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BALLERINA, DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DANGEROUS ANIMALS, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, THE RITUAL, BRING HER BACK, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS*, THUNDERBOLTS** (6/6 on), DOGMA 25th anniversary (re-release) (6/6-6/8), ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY (6/9, 8 p.m., in Mandarin with English sub), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/11 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BALLERINA, DANGEROUS ANIMALS, THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, THE RITUAL, BRING HER BACK, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE*, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, A MINECRAFT MOVIE*, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (6/6 on), UFC 316: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley, more (mixed martial arts) (6/7, 9 p.m., simulcast), TWILIGHT (6/8, 3 & 7 p.m.; 6/11, 7 p.m.), THE AMERICAN MIRACLE: OUR NATION IS NO ACCIDENT (faith docudrama) (6/9-6/11, 7 p.m.), HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/11 on) *single screenings daily

@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. PADDINGTON IN PERU (6/12, 9 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 »

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Since we covered all the base tenets of the brand-new-to-Champaign County film festival, Savoy Lumière, in our previous report, we’ve decided for this installment of our coverage to let you in on our conversation with its founder and director, Nat Dykeman. Now residing in Sidney with his wife, children, and fur babies while taking advantage of the “micro-urban” spoils in the immediate Champaign-Urbana region, Dykeman has a fresh sandbox to play in with his entrepreneurial verve and organizational strengths. He’s lived throughout the state of Illinois and fleshed out his interests in many ways –lasting accomplishments include the Lake County Film Festival, which is still going strong in its Grayslake home, and the Chicago independent feature QWERTY directed by Bill Sebastian and starring Dana Pupkin-Sebastian and the late Eric Hailey, which is still available to enjoy in all its modest charm – so we can expect him to find new ways in our neck of the cornfields to expand on his activities. The last year’s worth of single-show screenings held at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX in Savoy has led up to Lumière and, as Dykeman hints more than once in our exclusive interview, the possibility is real he will branch out with his Chambana Film Society label to the benefit of those in our communities who dare to “look elsewhere” for their arts, entertainment, and culture. Film Society films are not mass-produced product, that is guaranteed.

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We’re grateful to have had the chance to get reacquainted with Dykeman. Not unlike with our friend in DIY film David Gracon, who we met long distance in the halcyon MICRO-FILM days well before he moved into the C-U area for several years and taught at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, our man Dykeman has circled around in our world. Early on in his tenure with the Lake County Film Festival and during the course of yours truly preparing what would be the final issue of MICRO-FILM, we both moonlighted as guest jurors to watch many hours’ worth of DVD screeners with films that would play the first Illinois Independent Film Festival at the Arcadia Theatre of St. Charles in 2005. Meeting onsite at the venue and jabbering briefly between screenings, we did not keep in touch much after that due to your humble editor’s general avoidance of the Windy City hubbub. So now, we’ve met again and begun catching up about our lives and the movies. It’s been a treat, to be honest. Dykeman sports a big energy and loves to pour over whatever is on the table at the moment; you will get his honest thoughts at all times and he is not afraid to champion what he loves and call out when something sucks hard. It is with this seasoned blend of working experience and discerning taste that we root for his hard work to pay off and for Champaign-Urbana-Savoy to not only take note of it, but join him on an exciting film-filled journey.

The first Savoy Lumière runs through Monday, June 2, at the Savoy 16. Please visit the festival website for daily schedules as well as options to purchase your tickets in advance. Our talk about the impetus behind his new adventures in the C-U can be read below when you’re not living it up at the Lumière!

~ Jason Pankoke

Read on, MacDuff…

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C-U Blogfidential: Greetings, Nat, and thank you for speaking with us! The first Savoy Lumière film festival at the Savoy 16 theaters, organized under the Chambana Film Society umbrella, will also be the first movie showcase of scope to premiere in Champaign-Urbana-Savoy in more than a decade. What kind of experiences and opportunities do you hope our cities and residents might get from attending Lumière?

Nat Dykeman: Ah ha! I will probably be using this phrase, “of scope,” more often.

I love how many short film festivals there are in town [although a] singular screening every year is not what many people picture as a festival. On the one hand, you have to remember that the Lake County Film Festival is still pretty much the only festival “of scope” where I’m from, so I’m kind of used to this situation. And, I’m new to the area, so I only have a sense of what’s come before and what I’m trying to live up to.

Where I’m from [in the Grayslake, Illinois region north of Chicago], there was no basis for something like this. People would hear about the film festival and ask, “What’s a film festival?” My standard answer is, “It’s like Bonnaroo [Music & Arts Festival] but for movies.” Someone asked me once if they had to make a movie to attend.

The history of film festivals and art theaters and an art scene in general [in Champaign-Urbana-Savoy] is mostly a relief to me, so I don’t have to hope that attendees are going to discover the magical world of film festivals and/or independent film [like they’re an unknown quantity]. I just hope they enjoy the movies and the experience, and [then] get excited about all of the other ideas for screenings I have.

Unlike the film festivals I’m used to, being once-a-year affairs, the fact that I’ve already had twenty screenings since last year also eases some of the pressure of the [Lumière] film festival. Recently, I’ve started thinking of this festival like a birthday party. It’s a celebration, certainly, but it’s not just celebrating itself but the whole year that’s come before.

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!

5/31: Joshua Brucker (filmmaker, THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY FOUR, Horror Dadz Productions, Watseka, IL)
6/1: William Pace (faculty associate of digital media production, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ)
6/1: Bill Yauch (producer/cinematographer, AMBER ROSE, Shut Up and Do It Productions, Champaign, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

Why not lift our Report embargo a couple of weeks early to allow for a full-on Savoy Lumière takeover? “Glad to oblige!” shouts Ye Ed from across the MFHQ office. Since we’ve been late in getting our festival coverage filed for your planning needs, dearest readers, we’re going to point you to a few other media sources where publicity for the event have already appeared. First, Smile Politely’s Amy Penne gives the Lumière a giant vote of confidence in her preview and interview with organizer Nat Dykeman and, if you don’t already realize the movies and local movie mavens hit a sweet spot for her, it is made very clear in this article. Also adding to the visibility of Lumière is this nice overview provided by Sam Rink at the IPM Newsroom in which he talks with Dykeman as well as Keenan Dailey and Trude Namara of BRIM (Thursday, May 29, 6 p.m.) and Chase Todd of AN AFFAIR AT THE END OF TIME (Sunday, June 1, 3:15 p.m.). WCIS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Springfield, ran this notice and it reads like a press release sent over by the Village of Savoy, which signed on as the first major sponsor of Lumière, as it directly quotes village president John Brown and trustee Larry Kanfer ahead of our man Dykeman. (In fact, it is a press release; we had to look on the Savoy municipal website to find a link to a PDF of it as it was not readily appearing in Google searches.) We know through the grapevine that at least a couple of radio segments were had at places like WEFT-FM and the Lumière is being name-checked by organizations who always have one eye on community activity that can translate into economic gains, such as the Champaign County Film Office and Experience Champaign-Urbana. All in all, a passable first-time showing for the C-U at large to afford the Lumière their time and attention in advance. They’ll get the hang of it…

IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen

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Why not push back our archives photo series yet one more week to allow for a full-on Savoy Lumière takeover? “Sounds just dandy!” yells Ye Ed from across the MFHQ commissary. We’re taking the simple route with this department and dressing up the Calendar with one-sheet art for features playing this weekend at the Savoy 16 + IMAX as a part of Lumière: FREE LEONARD PELTIER (Saturday, May 31, 1:30 p.m.), NEVER NOT YOURS (Sunday, June 1, 5:30 p.m.), and INBETWEENING (Sunday, June 1, 7:30 p.m.). Let’s also mention the two animated films pictured here that will appear in the all-ages show, QUELM SALVA directly above and BIRD DRONE at the top (Saturday, May 31, 11 a.m.) Visit the festival subsite up at Chambana Film Society for more details about these and all the other films scheduled throughout the weekend. Please enjoy yourselves, take your friends, and share the good times online!

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LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society presents the 2025 Savoy Lumière* film festival (5/29-6/2) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
BRING HER BACK, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, TORNADO, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (5/30 on), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (6/2, 7 p.m.), DANGEROUS ANIMALS sneak preview (6/3, 7 p.m.), BALLERINA sneak preview (6/4, 7 p.m.), BALLERINA, DAN DA DAN: EVIL EYE (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), DOGMA 25th anniversary (re-release), THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (6/5 on)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BRING HER BACK, JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE, KARATE KID: LEGENDS, THE ACCOUNTANT 2*, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, FRIENDSHIP, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (5/30 on), The Metropolitan Opera: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (5/31, 12 p.m., simulcast; 6/4, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), GREASE (6/1, 3 & 7 p.m.; 6/4, 7 p.m.), BALLERINA (6/5 on) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. THE UNBREAKABLE BOY (6/5, 9 p.m., free)

@ Prairie Farm/Centennial Park, Champaign, IL
Champaign Park District presents “Moo-vie Nights at Prairie Farm” feat. A BUG’S LIFE (5/30, 8 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 »

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C-U Blogfidential has recently written up summaries of what went down at several film events in downstate Illinois, from the Illinois Student Film Festival to the Foxtail Film Festival to Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, and now the one we’ve been eagerly awaiting is upon us and will conclude this informal “spring cinema season” in Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. The Sidney-based promoter Nat Dykeman and his colleagues have organized the inaugural Savoy Lumière film festival and it will be held at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX theater in Savoy for the next five days starting tonight, Friday, May 29, and concluding the evening of Monday, June 2. A slate of 14 programs and approximately 40 films made across the United States and around the world, the Lumière is a grand and independent effort that is being produced under the aegis of the Chambana Film Society, which Dykeman formed a little more than a year ago as the umbrella for his efforts in public presentation and education, and will hopefully build into something notable and unique for our area. Of course, the nature of the Lumière is very appealing at first glance – cross our humble efforts at the dearly departed New Art Film Festival with the worldly aims of our friends at the long-running Route 66 International Film Festival in Springfield and you have a good idea of what to expect – while it is distinct enough from the other cinema showcases that are staged in the immediate area to be complementary. We hope our dearest viewers will choose to show up and be enlightened by what Lumière has to offer, for the C-U has sorely needed a film happening like this one.

While there are minutiae aplenty that we could detail in regards to the selections, we’d rather encourage you to explore Lumière with as few preconceived notions as possible. That said, we direct you to the Lumière subsite at the online home of the Film Society to dig in if you wish and decide what shows might sound enticing to you. There are no overlapping events a la “Ebertfest” so one could reasonably attend as much as is desired. We will hint there is a wide range of material in the program – comedies, dramas, thrillers, science fiction, and documentaries are well represented – and all the titles with C-U or Bloomington-Normal ties that we’re aware of have been marked with an asterisk in our patented schedule compilation, which you will see below and can reference throughout the weekend. Dykeman has stated in his social media publicity for Lumière that filmmakers will be present and discussing their work at a good amount of the screenings. Tickets for individual shows will cost $12 and a festival pass will cost $140; visit this page to purchase them in advance of heading out to the Savoy 16.

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For those who might look at the options and not know where to start with a cinema smorgasbord like this, especially if one’s time and funds are limited, we asked Dykeman via email for a little guidance prior to showtime. “I very much try not to play favorites,” he admits to CUBlog, so the following comments are from the perspective of attendees picking wisely for the sake of being introduced to what Lumière and the Film Society are all about. Dykeman describes the opening night feature, BRIM, as “a strong, distinct film, filmed locally, mostly with local people,” such as the director Keenan Dailey and writer Trude Namara, in a stylized exploration of systemic racism in American health care and across generations. He was able to schedule for Saturday night a recent festival favorite, AJ GOES TO THE DOG PARK, which is “probably unlike any movie you’ve ever seen before,” per Dykeman. “[It’s] a no-budget, surreal comedy from Fargo, North Dakota [with] a higher jokes-per-minute (JPM) than the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker movies [such as AIRPLANE!] and is more absurd than an evening of Adult Swim programming.” Also on tap is the National Geographic presentation, SALLY. “This documentary came to me late in the process,” says Dykeman, “and as soon as I saw it, I knew this would make a fantastic closing to the festival” in recounting the personal struggles and triumphs of the late NASA astronaut and physicist Sally Ride.

As we’ve stated over our many years in publishing CUBlog, one has to see a film for themselves to know if they will like it or get something out of it, and we trust the tastes of Dykeman to not lead attendees astray. In recent months, we’ve also talked a bit about the Savoy Lumière founder’s history in all things cinema that include his similar leadership role with the Lake County Film Festival, which has taken place in the north Chicago suburb of Grayslake for more than two decades, a brief run as a video store proprietor up in the Windy City proper, and occasional dabbling in movie production. We originally met as fellow jurors in 2005 at a start-up festival in St. Charles and I could not have foreseen our paths crossing again in this new world of Champaign-Urbana-Savoy-Rantoul film culture. Residents and creatives living in east central Illinois can only benefit from his experience, connections, and make-it-happen spirit, so we’re doubly excited to see the Lumière shine bright and learn more about what comes next. Stay tuned for a follow-up post sharing our conversation with Nat Dykeman. See you in Savoy, tra la!

~ Jason Pankoke

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2025 Savoy Lumière Film Festival schedule
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL

Thursday, May 29
6:00 p.m. BRIM* (2025, 105 min., Dir. Keenan Dailey, USA, drama)

w/shorts:
CONTAGIOUS SWAGGER (2023, 12 min., USA, comedy)
THE ALLY (2023, 11 min., USA, comedy)
A MIND OF ITS OWN (2023, 12 min., USA, comedy)
ROCK ISLAND PRISON 1864* (2025, 7 min., USA, drama)

Friday, May 30
6:45 p.m. Short Films, “Science Fiction”

feat.:
FIGMENT (2024, 20 min., NZ, drama)
TSKACKAPHIS (2023, 7 min., USA, comedy)
HOMEPLANET (2025, 26 min., USA, drama)
SWEET DREAMING* (2024, 12 min., USA, drama)
AS EASY AS CLOSING YOUR EYES* (2024, 22 min., USA, drama)

9:00 p.m. GUNMAN (GATILLERO) (2025, 80 min., Dir. Cris Tapia Marchiori, Argentina, action)

w/short:
LOOSE CHANGE (2024, 15 min., USA, drama)

Saturday, May 31
11:00 a.m. Short Films, “Animated” + “Shorts with Kids”

feat.:
QUEM SALVA (2023, 7 min., France, action)
LEARNING TO FLY (2024, 3 min., USA, action)
AUTOPHAGY (2024, 11 min., UK, drama)
FAMILY PORTRAIT OF THE BLACK EARTH (2024, 10 min., Bulgaria, drama)
PLUNGE (2024, 8 min., UK, docu.)
BIRD DRONE (2023, 9 min., Australia, drama)
HANG (2025, 3 min., USA, music video)
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CALICO (2024, 15 min., UK, drama)
RUBY (2024, 13 min., USA, comedy)
WOLF (2024, 16 min., UK, drama)

1:30 p.m. FREE LEONARD PELTIER (2025, 110 min., Dir. Jesse Short Bull, David France, USA, human rights docu.)

4:00 p.m. THE PREMIERE (2024, 81 min., Dir. Jon Silver, USA, dramedy)

w/short:
CABARET SPECTACULAR (2024, 12 min., USA, comedy)

6:15 p.m. AJ GOES TO THE DOG PARK (2024, 78 min, Dir. Toby Jones, USA, comedy)

w/short:
THE DAY KEEPER (2024, 8 min., USA, mockumentary)

8:30 p.m. THE OTHER PEOPLE (2025, 113 min., Dir. Chad McClarnon, USA, thriller)

Sunday, June 1
11:00 a.m. CATCHING BULLETS (2024, 85 min., Dir. Ben Scholle, USA, inner city life docu.)

w/shorts:
SAVIOR (2024, 4 min., USA, immigration docu.)
IT’S TIME* (2024, 4 min., nature docu.)

1:15 p.m. PAPER MARRIAGE (2024, 90 min., Dir. Jeff Man, USA, comedy)

3:15 p.m. Short Films, “Chambana to Chicago”

feat.:
HIGH STANDARDS* (2024, 14 min., USA, comedy)
AN AFFAIR AT THE END OF TIME* (2025, 15 min., USA, drama)
KAL-HAVEN* (2025, 12 min., USA, horror)
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ANHEDONIA (2025, 8 min., USA, horror)
FRAGMENTS OF A CRIME (2025, 8 min., USA, thriller)
THE CANCER CARD (2025, 14 min., USA, dramedy)
CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY (2020, 18 min., USA, satire)
HAIR (2024, 6 min., USA, dramedy)

5:30 p.m. NEVER NOT YOURS (2024, 81 min., Dir. John Klein, Stephen Kniss, USA, drama)

w/short:
WHEN EVERYTHING WENT BLUE (2024, 14 min., USA, drama)

7:30 p.m. INBETWEENING (2024, 118 min., Dir. Mel House, USA, dramedy)

Monday, June 2
7:00 p.m. SALLY (2025, 103 min. Dir. Christina Costantini, USA, biography docu.)

w/short:
AS LONG AS WE CAN (2024, 11 min., USA, health docu.)

Publicity still from BRIM is courtesy Visage Entertainment via Chambana Film Society. | Publicity still from GATILLERO is courtesy Dukkah Producciones via Chambana Film Society. | Other artwork is courtesy Chambana Film Society and illustrated by Kat Jacobsen.

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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!

5/26: Lana Hinshaw-Klann (photojournalist, WBBM Channel 2 (CBS), Chicago, IL)
5/29: Amy Penne (arts editor, Smile Politely, Champaign-Urbana, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

The Report is on hiatus until June. 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!

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society presents the 2025 Savoy Lumière* film festival (5/29-6/2) Information

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
FRIENDSHIP, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, THE ACCOUNTANT 2*, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, HURRY UP TOMORROW, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (5/23 on), BRING HER BACK, KARATE KID: LEGENDS (5/29 on) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, THE ACCOUNTANT 2, FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, HURRY UP TOMORROW*, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS* (5/23 on), BLAZING SADDLES (5/25, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5/28, 7 p.m.), KARATE KID: LEGENDS (5/29 on) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

NEW! @ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. ONE OF THEM DAYS (5/29, 9 p.m., free)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
The News-Gazette Film Series presents JAWS (5/25, 2 p.m.; 5/26, 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!

5/17: Nat Dykeman (founder, Chambana Film Society/The Savoy Lumierè, Sidney, IL)
5/21: Katherine Bokenkamp (actress, AN AFFAIR AT THE END OF TIME, Earth-217 Studios, Fairmount, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

The Report is on hiatus until June. 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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Yes, it’s a bit of a ruse. We still need one more week before we begin our archive show-and-tell. Sorry. We were torn between writing one or two bonus CUBlog posts this week and didn’t finish any of it, so the Calendar got the short end of the stick. Therefore, as a from-the-hip aside to keep everyone guessing what we have in store, let’s give you another preview starring the closest thing we have to a literal stick figure. This handmade Fighting Guy with (cocktail!) sword was entrusted to Ye Ed many moons ago by our friend and former Urbana resident, John May. We will come back around to them later in the photo sequence and, if you don’t already know why we’re including them, you will soon find out. It’s high time to weekend, don’t you think? Soak it in and be good out there, dearest adventurers and cultural archaeologists du C-U!

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

JIMMY IN SAIGON* U.S. streaming release: Tuesday, 5/13, nationwide via Dark Star Pictures, Los Angeles, CA/Peter McDowell Productions, Los Angeles, CA

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
23 (IRAVAI MOODU) (in Telugu with English sub), FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, HURRY UP TOMORROW, THE RUSE, THE ACCOUNTANT 2, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, FIGHT OR FLIGHT, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SHADOW FORCE, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS*, UNTIL DAWN (5/16 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE (animé) (5/17, 4 p.m., 5/18, 4 & 7 p.m., 5/21, 7 p.m., English dub; 5/19-5/20, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (5/19, 7 p.m.), FRIENDSHIP, THE LAST RODEO, LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (5/22 on)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, HURRY UP TOMORROW, THE RUSE, THE ACCOUNTANT 2, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, FIGHT OR FLIGHT*, JULIET & ROMEO*, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SHADOW FORCE, SINNERS, THUNDERBOLTS*, UNTIL DAWN, WARFARE (5/16 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE (animé) (5/17, 2 p.m., 5/18, 4 & 7 p.m., 5/21, 7 p.m., English dub; 5/19-5/20, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), The Metropolitan Opera: Salome (5/17, 12 p.m., simulcast; 5/21, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), LABYRINTH (5/18, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5/21, 7 p.m.), LILO & STITCH, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (5/22 on) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

@ 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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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!

5/13: Casey Wayne Hupp (actor, RETURN OF THE CORN ZOMBIES, Acrostar Productions LLC, Chicago, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

The Report is on hiatus until June. 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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We suppose this gets the point across, yes?

The setup is not professional grade but it’ll do and is better than, say, placing valuable items from the MFHQ Deux archive on the stove top for a photo op. Lighting will be tweaked and arrangements varied as we take the shots in order to show you the stuffs and tell you a few tales beginning next week in the Calendar. These videos are just stand-ins to test it out. When in Walmart country, make Walmart due…

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Champaign County History Museum, Champaign, IL
“Downtown Champaign Historic Theater Tour” (5/10, 1-2:30 p.m.) Register

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, FIGHT OR FLIGHT, JULIET & ROMEO, SHADOW FORCE, #SINGLE (in Telugu with English sub), THE ACCOUNTANT 2, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, SNOW WHITE, THE SURFER, THUNDERBOLTS*, UNTIL DAWN (5/9 on), SHOW ME YOUR GLORY (religious documentary) (5/13-5/15, 7 p.m.), Blumhouse 15th anniversary “Halfway to Halloween” feat. MA (5/14, 7 & 9 p.m.), HURRY UP TOMORROW sneak preview (5/14, 6 & 6:30 p.m.), KINGDOM OF HEAVEN “director’s cut” (5/14, 6 p.m.), FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, HURRY UP TOMORROW (5/15 on)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, FIGHT OR FLIGHT, JULIET & ROMEO, SHADOW FORCE, THE ACCOUNTANT 2, THE AMATEUR, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, SNOW WHITE*, THUNDERBOLTS*, WARFARE (5/9 on), UNTIL DAWN (5/9-5/12), THE SURFER* (5/9, 5/12-5/13), UFC 315: Belal Muhammed vs. Jack Della Maddalena, more (mixed martial arts) (5/10, 9 p.m., simulcast), THE WIZARD OF OZ (5/10-5/11, 2, 4:30 & 7 p.m.; 5/14, 7 p.m.), SHOW ME YOUR GLORY (religious documentary) (5/13-5/15, 7 p.m.), HURRY UP TOMORROW sneak preview (5/14, 6 & 6:30 p.m.), HURRY UP TOMORROW (5/15 on) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

@ 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!

~~~~~

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.

~~~~~

MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!

5/4: Andrew J. Rausch (author, Generation Tarantino: The Last Wave of Young Turks in Hollywood, Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, NY)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

The Report is on hiatus until June. 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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Sigh. Since we’re spending extra time away from our makeshift still life studio here at MFHQ Deux to write even more about the current movie events du C-U and to bring you a follow-up report on relevant home video releases, we have to postpone the start of our gallery series of local film goodies yet again. However, in the spirit of the beloved Detective Columbo, this gives us an opportunity to address just one more thing that we’ve thought about in recent days before we get started. Mrs. Columbo would approve.

As you’ve seen, we’ve gathered physical evidence of the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond that we intend to use as a storytelling vehicle in the coming weeks. Practically all of this material was brought directly to MFHQ Deux from the original MFHQ or acquired in the few years that your humble editor has been living here full time. However, as he digs deeper in the hallowed halls of Momkoke Manor, remnants of his movie life once shared with the late Ma JaPan have begun to reappear.

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There are pieces in plain sight, like the tenth anniversary “Ebertfest” magnet on the refrigerator door that was formerly on display in the same location at MFHQ. There are other pieces tucked away for safe keeping, such as the memorial issue of the Chicago Sun-Times that marked the passing of Roger Ebert in 2013. And, there are the inadvertent discoveries as in the interview tape and CDs jammed in the back of the filing cabinet drawer that Ye Ed was cleaning; how they managed to not fall out while being moved from the covert MFHQ Annex in C-U to the house on the edge of an American small town, who knows?

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It always pays to keep your eyes open as well as your ears, nose, mind, and heart. “You never know,” as Ma used to say, and that truism can apply across the board in our lives from sunup to sundown. It does feel sometimes like the pieces of the film culture puzzle pertaining to us are simply not a priority in the cultural space of Champaign-Urbana. Therefore, now is the time to start to put it all together. Onward.

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LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Parkland Theatre, Parkland College, Champaign, IL
Compass Casting “photo open call” (5/3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.)

@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
UIUC College of Media presents MACS Illinois Student Film Festival* (5/2, doors 6 p.m., event 7 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE DUMPLING QUEEN (in Mandarin with English sub), RAID 2 (in Hindi with English sub), ROSARIO, THE SURFER, THUNDERBOLTS*, THE ACCOUNTANT 2, THE AMATEUR, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), THE LEGEND OF OCHI*, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, UNTIL DAWN (5/2 on), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (5/5, 7 p.m.), Blumhouse 15th anniversary “Halfway to Halloween” feat. ANNABELLE (5/7, 7 & 9 p.m.), CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD sneak preview (5/7, 6:30 p.m.), CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, FIGHT OR FLIGHT, JULIET & ROMEO, SHADOW FORCE (5/8 on) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE SURFER, THUNDERBOLTS*, THE ACCOUNTANT 2, THE AMATEUR, CHEECH & CHONG’S LAST MOVIE* (documentary), THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), THE LEGEND OF OCHI*, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SINNERS, UNTIL DAWN, WARFARE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD (5/2 on), ON SWIFT HORSES* (5/2, 5/4-5/8), MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL 50th anniversary (5/4, 5/7, 4 & 7 p.m.), SCREAM (1996) (5/4, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5/7, 7 p.m.) *single screenings daily (except for THUNDERBOLTS*)

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD (5/2-5/3, 7 p.m., free w/i-card), 5/4: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (5/4, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)

@ 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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Read the rest of this entry »

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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.

~~~~~

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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Let’s be the collective herald who reminds our community that, while Roger Ebert’s Film Festival is a singular force in our annual cultural calendar, there is much cinema life to be had otherwise that is sparked by the people of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. The “beyond” is where we look today for a good example that is running concurrently with ‘Ebertfest’– one wonders why it had to be the case – as the student-leaning Foxtail Film Festival returns to the Normal Theater of downtown Normal for their third annual show. It is an instructional affair offering the young people who are attending Illinois State University and other schools a concise way to learn about the production process as well as view the work made by themselves and their peers on the big screen with their families and the public. Overseen by festival director Andrew Ventimiglia, ISU professor in mass media studies, and organized by ISU underclassmen, Foxtail is a partnership between the ISU School of Communication, ISU School of Theatre, Dance, and Film, and ISU Wonsook Kim School of Art with additional sponsorship from Before Brand, WGLT-FM, and the Normal. Beginning tonight, Thursday, April 24, and continuing through the end of Saturday, April 26, Foxtail is the alternate film choice you didn’t know you had this week.

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We’d like to highlight a few qualities that make the 2025 Foxtail a unique event for the area. As they did last year with the documentarian Danielle Beverly (QATAR STARS), organizers are welcoming a visiting filmmaker to Normal in the Chile-based writer and director Christopher Murray; his recent period piece BRUJERÍA (SORCERY) plays tonight and stars Valentina Véliz Caileo as an indigenous girl whose farmer father is killed by a German settler foreman and turns to the elder Mateo (Daniel Antivilo) and supernatural practices to enact justice. Murray will host a workshop on Friday afternoon and discuss approaches to weaving history into storytelling, while representatives from Rantoul’s Flyover Film Studios will introduce attendees to their soundstage craft on Saturday afternoon. The evenings of Friday and Saturday will be devoted to film blocks, the first comprised of works made by ISU students and alumni, the second made up of submissions from high school and non-ISU college students. Although the Foxtail approach is designed to speak to the up-and-comers who might pursue production for their livelihoods, it can also scratch the itch for anyone who wants to tell stories through a camera lens or already does so.

More information about the Foxtail Film Festival can be read about at their website and updates can be followed on their Facebook account. The Normal Theater, 209 North St., Normal, Illinois, which first opened in November 1937, is managed by Benjamin Young and operated by the Town of Normal.

~ Jason Pankoke

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2025 Foxtail Film Festival schedule
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL

Thursday, April 24
6:00 p.m. BRUJERÍA (SORCERY) (2023, 101 min.) screening and discussion with filmmaker Christopher Murray
9:00 p.m. Reception at Medici, 120 North St., Normal

Friday, April 25
3:00 p.m. Workshop with Christopher Murray on “historical methods in narrative filmmaking”
7:00 p.m. Regional screening of Illinois State University film work and discussion with attending filmmakers; selections include:

THE DATE WAS TONIGHT by Braden Kralis
GHOST OF FRATS PAST by Tommy Conway, Benn Eddy, Zach Hotchkiss, and Sheldon Bartmann
LOVE YOU. BYE. by Dan White
HIRCUS HOMOS by Henry Horton
THE WEIGHT OF WORDS by Thomas Palatinus
TIES THAT BIND by Tessa Renken
OFF-SCRIPT by Kian Kelly
A LOOK AT THE EX-GUITARIST OF MIDWESTERN ROCK BAND ‘LEFT OF PASSAGE’ by Jack Sinks

Saturday, April 26
3:00 p.m. Workshop with Flyover Film Studios of Rantoul about their business and internship opportunities
7:00 p.m. Competitive screening of high school and college/university films, plus discussion with attending filmmakers and awards ceremony

Publicity still from BRUJERÍA is courtesy Pimienta Films (Mexico). | Other artwork is courtesy the Foxtail Film Festival.

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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.

~ Jason Pankoke

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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.

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!

4/18: Mike Trippiedi (filmmaker, DOGS IN QUICKSAND, Saturn’s Core Audio & Video, Bloomingdale, NJ)
4/21: Brian Paris (multimedia producer, City of Champaign administration department, Champaign, IL)
4/21: William Kephart (office administrator, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, UIUC, Urbana, IL)

FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said

We’ve decided to break our Report-ing sabbatical for a week, in part to give you some meat on the Calendar bones since we sort of wimped out in the Images department below, and also in part because the following lends itself as an up-to-the-minute counterpart to the “gallery of local film goodies kept at MFHQ Deux” series that we’re absolutely, positively, definitely going to embark on next week. Ye Ed was cruising the “coming soon” product listings on the merchant websites a few days ago and found several physical media things that look to us like they should be filed under “Confidential” at first opportunity…

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To start, Warner Brothers Entertainment released a UHD of THE INFORMANT! this past Tuesday, April 15, we suppose to tie in with filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s recent theatrical one-two of BLACK BAG and PRESENCE? The corporate intrigue tale starring Matt Damon as the real-life Archer Daniels Midland executive and whistleblower, Mark Whitacre, has been available on home video formats since 2010 and, unless one was hankering for a hi-def edition of this movie or at least the location photography done in the Decatur region with local sights and folks in plain view, one wonders what the appeal will be at this late stage. Product descriptions online do not indicate any extras, but, the prior discs were pretty spare to begin with.

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A pair of “lost” indies from the late Nineties-early Aughts with a direct link to our past activities is about to resurface. MVD Rewind Collection and Smodcastle Cinema, both reissue labels of MVD Visual, will put out a Blu-ray “director’s cut” of A BETTER PLACE, one of the older non-Kevin Smith flicks from View Askew Productions, on Tuesday, May 27; Vincent Pereira’s story of an uneasy friendship between teens played by Eion Bailey and Robert DiPatri made the cover of MICRO-FILM 3 in late 2000. Also, the brain trust behind VHSHitfest (read that slowly and carefully) have rescued the crafty lo-fi sci-fi flick PROJECT OMICRON for a Blu-ray rebirth that will be available on the same date, May 27, through the Vinegar Syndrome/OCN Distribution machine; creator Jared Whitman was a whimsical treat to have on hand when he visited the C-U in support of his film’s screening at the 2000 Freaky Film Festival and, per the VS product page, his presence will be in full force on the disc. We’re giddy to see this again.

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Jake Rademacher’s documentary BROTHERS AFTER WAR, a follow-up to the 2009 feature BROTHERS AT WAR from Samuel Goldwyn Films and Summit Entertainment, was presented to servicemen and their guests at special events across the United States over the last year thanks to direct support from the Gary Sinise Foundation. AFTER WAR will make its DVD debut on (once again!) Tuesday, May 27, from Mill Creek Entertainment after a limited theatrical release in February through SDG Releasing; the films consecutively follow the experiences had by Rademacher’s two brothers and their fellow soldiers while fighting in the Iraq War and transitioning back out of service into civilian life. Sinise himself attended a showing of AT WAR at the Avon Theatre in Decatur, where the Rademacher family hails from, in 2008.

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As far as campus connections, The Criterion Collection announced its newest slate of upcoming releases and it includes a UHD upgrade for MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS; Paul Schrader’s biography, starring Ken Ogata as the Japanese artist and radical Yukio Mishima, will be on the shelves and in the warehouses as of Tuesday, June 3, and was featured at Roger Ebert’s Film Festival in 2008. Also, Kino Lorber’s current “March Madness” sale, which ends after next Monday, April 21, and offers several hundred titles from the studio’s catalog for a song, has a Blu-ray of the French-Algerian war drama THE OLIVE TREES OF JUSTICE marked down to a mere $6.99; photographed by the late University of Illinois professor Julius Rascheff and directed by the late award-winning documentarian James Blue, OLIVE TREES is long overdue a public retrospect at UI or as part of “Ebertfest” in Rascheff’s honor, so say we.

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To close, a surprise was found at the very end of the pre-order listings at e-tailer Deep Discount – DVD and Blu-ray product pages for the serial killer procedural TORTURE THE FLESH. We’ve talked about this a couple of times on CUBlog, most recently in late 2023, and apparently the long-gestating project from Cheevies Film Productions can finally be yours thanks to distributor Leomark Studios and the magic of MOD as of next Tuesday, April 22. But, wait, the Cheevies folks have already made their own Blu-ray available – we didn’t realize it until now – and their socials make no mention of the re-release as of yet. Pick your preferred TORTURE, we suppose, and support these prolific Chicagoland indies in every avenue! Most recently, filmmakers Derek Braasch and Nina Trader tabled at the Cinema Wasteland convention in Ohio and screened the film, which stars central Illinois actor Myles Valentine (FINAL SUMMER, AN AFFAIR AT THE END OF TIME) and busy veteran Lynn Lowry (NIGHT OF THE DEAD SORORITY BABES, SPIRIT RISER) as well as Joe DeBartolo, Darin Bowman, and Bobby Bozek.

The Report now goes back 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

Here’s two photos, giving you one last little peek for now at the waning hours of OG MFHQ. Your humble editor is prepping Momkoke Manor for a visit from the HVAC folks next week, so life at MFHQ Deux will suck hard until it’s done. We know you’ll understand, dearest homeowner readers and Damian Duffy Hates Everything podcast listeners. It’s absolutely the world we live in right now. Shhhhhhhhh-lup!

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CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

25 Years Ago … April 26-30, 2000: The second edition of Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL, becomes the perfect vehicle to debut the second edition of MICRO-FILM journal released by Opteryx Press of Champaign. Mere blocks from their office, editor Jason Pankoke tables at “Ebertfest” for the first time in the main lobby next to Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt, whose fabled genre short COVEN and star-making documentary AMERICAN MOVIE play the night of Thursday, April 27. Articles in MICRO-FILM 2 feature interviews with filmmakers Kevin DiNovis on “Ebertfest” 1999 selection SURRENDER DOROTHY, Jay Rosenstein on the hotly debated IN WHOSE HONOR?, Mark Pirro on COLOR-BLINDED and his micro-budget output, and Chris Smith on AMERICAN MOVIE, as well as discussion of the distinguished film artists Maya Deren and Bill Viola. This issue receives the largest press run in the publication’s history based on the positive feedback to MF 1 and potential for newsstand distribution in the United States. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (4/21, 7 p.m.)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, SINNERS, SNEAKS (animation), THE TEACHER, THE UGLY STEPSISTER (in Norwegian with English sub), THE WEDDING BANQUET, THE AMATEUR, THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 3* (faith film), DROP, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SNOW WHITE, WARFARE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD*, A WORKING MAN* (4/18 on), COLORFUL STAGE! THE MOVIE: A MIKU WHO CAN’T SING* (animé) (in Japanese with English sub) (4/18-4/20), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (4/21, 7 p.m.), THE ACCOUNTANT 2, THE LEGEND OF OCHI, ON SWIFT HORSES, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (re-release), UNTIL DAWN (4/24 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
SINNERS, SNEAKS (animation), THE WEDDING BANQUET, THE AMATEUR, THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 3 (faith film), DROP, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), MICKEY 17, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, WARFARE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, A WORKING MAN (4/18 on), PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 20th anniversary (4/20, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/23, 7 p.m.), The Cinema Foundation “Sneak Peek Showcase” (compilation) (4/22, 4/24, 6 p.m.), THE ACCOUNTANT 2, STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (re-release) (4/24 on)

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (4/18-4/19, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)

@ Spurlock Center for World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies* event series: Ebert Symposium screening: HER (4/22, 7 p.m., Knight Auditorium, free), Ebert Symposium keynote and roundtables: “Artificial Intelligence Imagined and Realized” (4/23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Knight Auditorium, free)

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
The College of Media at Illinois presents the 25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival* (4/23-4/26) 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 »

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!

4/13: Damon Foster (filmmaker, OF MUMMIES AND MARTIANS, Damon A. Foster, Sacramento, CA)

PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

3/19: John Russell, 91 (manager, The Rialto Theatre, Champaign, IL, retired)

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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Despite our promise last week that we would begin a show and tell this week featuring some of the recently acquired movie ephemera of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond that we’ve given a home at MFHQ Deux up north in the Illinois Valley, Ye Ed decided that we could stand one more off ramp for context. The coincidence we shared in the previous Images, wherein the same Ye Ed singled out a Dora Hall LP at the Horizons Music Warehouse of Mendota largely because he had recently learned about Hall’s connection with the former Solo Cup plant of Urbana, is not out of the ordinary. Physical evidence of our film culture has never been abundant in the wild and, if we can make the connection and justify the price, it might just come back to HQ with us for safe keeping, enjoyment, and editorial inspiration.

We had piped up a few years ago about starting a series where our dearest readers could vicariously check out some of the cool collectibles and artifacts in our care while we talked about how we got them, why we had them, and where in the C-U cinema history they belonged. This was in part because we’ve always been disappointed that we never turned MFHQ, situated a couple of blocks away from the lovely West Side Park beside downtown Champaign, into a destination hangout for our friends and Confidential agents so we could visit in the comfortable space where all our ideas incubated and magic occurred. The illustrated anecdotes that will appear, starting in next week’s Calendar, are in the same spirit as before.

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Even with all the floor space we have at Momkoke Manor, establishing MFHQ Deux as more than a nebulous concept has not been high on Ye Ed’s to-do list as he continues to hash out the remnants of his parents’ lives and stabilize his own. Therefore, the items are being staged in a nondescript manner, similar to how we pictured the vintage Park Theatre handout featuring the actress Priscilla Lane in a previous post. This is in absolute contrast to the colorful and relatively organized backdrop that would have been the original Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters, which we’re giving you a rare peek at today. Above and below are pictures of Ye Ed’s hovel, where many years’ worth of MICRO-FILM, C-U Confidential, and New Art Film Festival activity took place and much of the tangible proof that informed our scene coverage was stored in all the boxes, shelves, filing cabinets, and closet space we could spare throughout Apt. 3D.

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Those snaps were taken in December 2020, not long after we had to agree to let go of 3D and move out of the world-famous “Building” in the Sesquicentennial Neighborhood. Sadly, MFHQ looked like this on January 20, 2021, the day before our twenty-five-year tenure on Prairie Street came to an end:

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Ye Ed decided that his last act in MFHQ would be to photograph and then remove all the decorations, fearing that some of them would be destroyed in the process. (He was right.) Here are good examples:

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The above picture shows a pair of bulletin board posters for Sam Ambler and Gab Reisman’s Film Dependency Film Festival at the Urbana IMC, circa 2003, featuring characteristic artwork by the late great Dave King. The picture below shows a handful of pieces that have CUBlog or MF relevance including a one-sheet for the DeKalb-filmed indie comedy LOVE 101 that its co-writer/director, Adrian Fulle, gave to your humble editor during a promotional stop in the C-U at the end of March 2000, as was just recalled in a Confidential Almanac entry. All of these survived and are currently stored at the covert MFHQ Annex in Champaign, along with other material directly related to the C-U filmography, where they are not convenient for us to access right now. That’s why we’ll be sharing with you what we have on hand in the coming weeks.

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Through very tired eyes after approximately eight weeks straight of clearing out 3D, constantly driving back and forth between Champaign and Mendota, attempting to put in hours at his employment, being conscious about his every move outside of “Building” due to pandemic restrictions, fretting from a distance about the health and well-being of Momkoke and Carlkoke, and wrapping his head around the attempted insurrection of the United States government in the middle of it all, Ye Ed took these archival images of MFHQ’s last breaths between 3 and 3:30 a.m. At around 4:45 a.m. on January 21, he turned in the keys and then drove a car bursting with belongings for two-and-a-half hours straight and on no sleep.

Any which way you can, join us next week for the first entry of our “Confidential Picture Show.” Thanks!

CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

15 Years Ago … April 15-20, 2010: Inspired by the warm reception given to his Boneyard Arts Festival “movie show” at Urbana’s Caffe Paradiso the previous spring, Jason Pankoke of C-U Confidential takes up a cross-town opportunity to build a more substantial showcase for independent cinema. He and Art Theater owner Sanford Hess collaborate to launch the first New Art Film Festival to offer Champaign-Urbana a unique program, drawing from both locally-made content and the work of producers from Chicago and several Midwest states. A free “non-taxing” reel, mixing trailers and film shorts in a similar vein to the Paradiso event, kicks off the NAFF on Thursday, April 15, after which the full potential of its concept is demonstrated to audiences. Blocks include various pieces from University of Illinois alumni and students, a selection of adventures from Dark Maze Studios of Champaign, the C-U debut of the documentary HOOPESTON, and features made by Pankoke’s contacts through the defunct MICRO-FILM journal such as EXISTO, RETURN IN RED, and DEADWOOD PARK. Screenings are paced across six days, the first three concurrent with Boneyard Arts and a closing “best of” presentation taking place on Tuesday, April 20, the night before Roger Ebert’s Film Festival commences. While an overall success, the NAFF would be modified to eliminate ticket sales, concentrate on selections from the state of Illinois, and consolidate to a single-day affair, becoming a signature Art event for the next decade that provided media storytellers who live downstate with a public space to convene. As reported on 4/14/10, 4/16/10 at CUBlog. [R]

LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers

@ Lincoln Square, Urbana, IL
The IDEA Store presents “Camera and Sewing Machine Sale” (4/11-4/13)

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE AMATEUR, THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 3 (faith film), DROP, JAAT (in Hindi with English sub), THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), WARFARE, DEATH OF A UNICORN, HELL OF A SUMMER, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, SNOW WHITE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, A WORKING MAN (4/11 on), AX Cinema Nights presents VAMPIRE HUNTER D 40th anniversary (animé) (4/13, 4 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 4/10, 7 p.m., English dub), KAIJU NO. 8: MISSION RECON (animé) (4/13, 2 p.m., 4/16, 7 p.m., English dub; 4/14, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (4/14, 7 p.m.), THE ACCOUNTANT 2 sneak preview (4/15, 7 p.m.), THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, COLORFUL STAGE! THE MOVIE: A MIKU WHO CAN’T SING (animé), SINNERS (4/17 on)

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE AMATEUR, THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 3 (faith film) and Part 2* (faith film), DROP, THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), WARFARE, THE FRIEND, HELL OF A SUMMER, MICKEY 17, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, PRINCESS MONONOKE (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub; re-release), SNOW WHITE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, A WORKING MAN (4/11 on), THE GOONIES (4/12, 7 p.m.; 4/13, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/16, 7 p.m.), UFC 314: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes, more (mixed martial arts) (4/12, 9 p.m., simulcast), SINNERS (4/17 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents WALL-E (animation) (4/11-4/12, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)

@ 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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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!

4/2: Pamela Powell (cohost and reviewer, “Reel Talk with Chuck and Pam,” Champaign-Chicago, IL/Racine, WI)
4/10: Kristen Johns (videographer, “Champaign Underground” YouTube channel, Champaign-Urbana, IL)

PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed

3/27: Robert W. McChesney, 72 (author, Rich Media, Poor Democracy, The New Press, New York, NY/host, “Media Matters,” WILL-AM 580, UIUC, Urbana, IL/professor emeritus, Department of Communication, UIUC, 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 New Scene on Your Screen

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Last week, we told you about the pleasure I had in discovering the hidden wonder of the Horizons Music warehouse, doing business in the same small Illinois town where I relocated the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters a few years ago. (Has it already been a few years?) The merchandise at this place will appeal greatly to those dearest listeners who are vinyl inclined, undeterred by obscure and overseas labels, and willing to dig. For those less endeared to the thrill of the hunt, names and faces of many well-known artists from across the expanse of twentieth century studio recording will leap out at you from all corners of the five thousand square foot floor. Since this is a movie blog, we are going to focus on the obvious today and show you a little of what might lie in wait for you that is in our wheelhouse. Read on!

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Much of the CD catalog at Horizons is tucked away in slim cardboard containers stacked on the shelves that line the outer walls. A smattering of random selections can be found on the tables in between the LPs, like this off-brand collection. Who knows how “original” the recordings on this might be.

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Videos are scarce here. They’re certainly not the bread and butter of a merchant like Horizons. Next to a wooden box filled with Beatles import LPs is this stack. Tempting, but these $5 DVDs are in the PAL format.

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Barely ten minutes before I made my way back to the front office of Horizons to pay for my small bounty and say thank you for allowing me to get my fill looking around the warehouse, I noticed these cartons. Stored along the inner wall, they’re filled with VHS. I’ll attempt to squeeze back there during my next visit.

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While I saw very few movie soundtrack CDs – one of them happened to be for the 1994 remake of LASSIE, one of the last films to play the Urbana Cinemas (Princess Theatre) in downtown Urbana before it closed down at Thanksgiving time that year – there was a decent selection of LPs on that front. I did not go in to take notes or photograph every single thing of interest I that I found, so you should visit the Horizons website to search the catalog for what might be music to your ears. Below are a few of the covers that stuck out to me including one for a film that is currently in the Criterion Collection. (Hint: it’s not JAWS 3, THE LONELY LADY, or HIGH ANXIETY.) VISIONS OF EIGHT is an anthology film about the 1972 Olympics with segments directed by the likes of Milos Forman, Kon Ichikawa, and Arthur Penn.

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Since the drive-in season is now upon us, with the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in of Gibson City and Route 66 Drive-in of Springfield opening back up this weekend, let’s share an LP that I found away from the soundtracks. It’s exactly as advertised, filled with vintage radio songs by artists we all know: Buddy Holly, Connie Francis, Fats Domino, Richie Valens, Pat Boone, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, and so on. Marked at $35 by Horizon, the price may seem a bit steep but it’s three platters and brand new in shrink wrap; some beautiful dreamers are trying to sell this for between $100 and $350 elsewhere. Shop smart!

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We’ll end our gallery with the nice surprise that I came upon late in my visit. Although I posed the covers a bit so they were easier to see, the following is depicted as I found it – standing by itself above the rows of soundtrack LPs, leaning against the back of something from the opposite side of the table. I had just been telling Confidential agent Drea, who is rediscovering her musical side through various doings at Parkland College, about the late Dora Hall; she was the wife of Solo Cup founder Leo Hulseman, who bankrolled her second wind in life as an entertainer through a series of LPs. 45s, television specials, and VHS tapes. This album checks two of those marks and was issued in 1972 by the Cozy Record Company of Chicago, one of several labels founded with the express purpose of introducing Hall to the world.

Next week, we’ll begin our survey of local film artifacts stored with love here at MFHQ Deux and, at some point, it will involve both Dora Hall and Urbana. To what effect, keep checking in with CUBlog to find out!

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CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History

15 Years Ago … February 5-7, 2010: Seeking to establish a vehicle for video screenings that welcomes a variety of personal and political perspectives, the Independent Media Center in downtown Urbana presents the second annual IMC Film Festival. A modest program features more than 25 pieces, serving as a “celebration of the art of cinematography” per AmeriCorps hire and outreach advisor Nicole Pion, and is rich with interactive portions to engage audience members. Activists, students, and producers from the immediate community are behind many of the movie selections while live attractions include a deejay and projection set by DJ Belly and Matt HarsH, post-film discussions led by the Gesundheit! Institute and the People’s Potluck, and an orchestral performance synched up to the silent German classic, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, of an original score composed and conducted by University of Illinois graduate student Vin Calianno. Organizers and rotating hosts of the event are Pion, Katy Vizdal, Laura Fuhrman, Brian Dolinar, and Jason Pankoke, the latter taking the reins at the first New Art Film Festival a scant two months later. Dolinar and friends would bring back the IMC Film Festival for a third and final bow in September 2011. As reported on 1/13/10, 2/1/10, 9/14/11 at CUBlog. [R]

NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area

@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 2 (faith film) and Part 1* (faith film), THE FRIEND, HELL OF A SUMMER, THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, DEATH OF A UNICORN, MICKEY 17, THE PENGUIN LESSONS, SNOW WHITE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, A WORKING MAN (4/4 on), THE AMATEUR sneak preview (4/5, 6 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (4/7, 7 p.m.), DROP sneak preview (4/9, 6 p.m.), AX Cinema Nights presents VAMPIRE HUNTER D 40th anniversary (animé) (4/9, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 4/10, 7 p.m., English dub), THE AMATEUR, THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 3 (faith film), DROP, JAAT (in Hindi with English sub), THE KING OF KINGS (faith animation), WARFARE (4/10 on) *single screenings daily

@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 2 (faith film) and Part 1 (faith film), THE FRIEND, HELL OF A SUMMER, A MINECRAFT MOVIE, BLACK BAG*, CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, DEATH OF A UNICORN, DOG MAN (animation), MICKEY 17, PADDINGTON IN PERU, PRINCESS MONONOKE (animé) (re-release), SNOW WHITE, THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, A WORKING MAN (4/4 on), THE NOTEBOOK (4/6, 3 & 7 p.m.; 4/9, 7 p.m.), THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER Part 3 (faith film) (4/10 on) *single screenings daily

@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents NOSFERATU (4/4-4/5, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)

BACK OPEN! @ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
DROP sneak preview (4/7, 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 »