Lumière film stars to shine bright
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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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