UI campus mixes TICKS with flicks
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Today, we briefly examine a trio of happenings in the University of Illinois milieu that might engage, enrage, or even engorge if you’re not careful! Explaining that last one first, it’s time to get our concentrated fill of insects, arachnids, and the like during the Insect Fear Film Festival this Saturday, February 24, at Foellinger Auditorium in Urbana. Dr. May Berenbaum and the members of the UI Entomology Graduate Student Association have chosen the tick as their educational focus in this 35th go-round, which will open free to the public at 6 p.m. and feature a children’s art gallery, mounted specimens, and live animals; media to be screened from 7:30 p.m. on include episodes of BEN10 and SOLDIER OF FORTUNE for all ages and the gory direct-to-video horror feature TICKS (1993) for a mature audience. Next, we move from nature run amok on humans to humans unwisely pummeling nature in the selections of the fourth annual Sustainability Shorts Film Festival at the UI Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall in Urbana. Organized by program director Jennifer Bechtel and students housed in the Sustainability Living-Learning Community, the show will present pieces from around the world that give insight into our foibles as well as, we imagine, shining glimmers of hope and dispensing sound ideas on how to correct course as best we can. This is also free admission, also taking place on Saturday, and also starting in the 7 o’clock hour, so you must pick your patronage. Our last event is not due for another few weeks – mark down a reminder to attend the fourth annual Illinifest Student Film Festival on Saturday, April 28 – yet the Call for Entries of the same is live right now! Hit this link to review submission terms if you are currently enrolled at the UI or another Midwest college; non-student creators can enter under the “World Competition” category. Final deadline is Tuesday, March 20, after which instructor Dora Valkanova and her students in MACS 464, the UI film festival course, will host the screening at Gregory Hall organized as part of their class work.
~ Jason Pankoke
p.s. Our weekly Calendar now sports a “Deadlines, Etc.” heading that will remind you regularly about important dates in that vein. Illinifest is currently listed along with four other events in the region looking for film content that have much longer windows. We’ll also be adding a second one on Friday that is geared to the UI student body. Submission pages on-line have been hot linked for your convenience.
p.s.2 Did we mention that women in C-U film kick ass? We did already? And, we already did it again?
p.s.3 Speaking of, let’s see if The News-Gazette misses the recently retired Melissa Merli when it comes to turning out mass coverage of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival. We sincerely hope the staff writers step up to produce good reporting in her absence and not passable filler.
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