Calendar: December 12-18, 2025
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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FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Want some more interesting news, C-U? That’s why we Report directly to you! First up, the crew at Camp Nostalgic Studios has just completed the latest seasons of their YouTube shows, totaling five episodes each of SATURDAY MORNING, in which co-hosts Dave Rediger and Mercedes DeSilva have grappled with the absence of departed host Alex Duquette in between local-color segments and offbeat hijinks, and LATE NIGHT URGE, in which stand-up comedienne Ariel Julie lets us in on the most intimate aspects of living single in the big city of Chicago. All the 2025 shows and assorted specials can be viewed right now and the storytellers are on break until they purportedly “shake things up” in 2026. What will that entail?
Also quite productive is the stage and television veteran, Mark Roberts, who continues to publish original writings, songs, and films under the Bad Mule, Inc., banner; most recently, he compiled the third issue of The Bad Mule Rag, a print and online compendium of illustrated stories in rhyme, and a companion live album recorded at Chicago’s Chopin Theater with performances by Lindsey Noel Whiting and himself. Bad Mule has also been serving as an incubator for original short subjects based on the rascally rhymes and you will find more than thirty of them, covering an astonishing range of animation and puppetry styles while being created by talents from near and far, on their YouTube channel; recent favorites in the award-winning cavalcade, which are produced by Lisa Cisneros and Tolono native Roberts, include GOOFBALL AND GWEN, directed by Maddie Helland, and EXHAUSTED AND SORE, directed by CJ Buckner.
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A further Champaign County-to-Chicago connection will be had when the non-profit Chicago Filmmakers presents the concluding monthly installment of “Picture ReStart,” a presentation of 16-millimeter shorts from the archived holdings of the Picture Start catalog, originally housed in and rented out via the Champaign offices of the late University of Illinois alumnus Ron Epple. Theme for this month’s show, which will take place on Saturday, December 20, 6 p.m., at the group’s Firehouse Cinema on Hollywood Avenue in the Windy City, is “Bringing It All Back Home: Seven Films Asking Intimate Questions of Self & Society,” which aims to collectively tackle “deep questions about why we are the way we are” as seen in this preview on Vimeo; artists represented in the show, made up of long-unseen prints that were selected and prepared by series curator Ben Creech, include Bill Turner, Ruth Peyser, Byron Grush, Kathleen Laughlin, Dirk de Bruyn, the prolific documentarian Tony Buba, and the legendary director Gus Van Sant.
To top off a Report filled with shorts, we’d like to share the last of the locally-made pieces that were introduced concurrently and coincidentally during the weekend of October 16-19 in the C-U. It is HarsH Pro’s music video for “All I’m Sayin” by Sweetmelk, a deceptively simple blast of raw emotion that captures vocalist and guitarist Kenna Mae and drummer Ori Sergel performing under the moonlight as well as a bold light, implicitly reflecting on personal desire. Producer Matt Harsh has also been busy with his trademark projection installations, such as a holiday display that is scheduled to be thrown on the buildings of Main Street, Race Street, and Crane Alley in downtown Urbana the night of Saturday, December 20, in collaboration with Urbana Arts and Culture, Gallery Art Bar, and Immersion Festival.
IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen
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Speaking of Gallery Art Bar, we certainly need to bring up a screening initiative that is being led by the retired Parkland College instructor and founder of the Electric Pictures design firm, Paul Young. In concert with several other perennials in the Champaign-Urbana scene with a vested interest in such a thing – Geoff Merritt of Parasol Records, Kim Robeson of Robeson’s Inc., Chuck Koplinski of Reel Talk with Chuck & Pam, Electric business partner and life partner Bonnie Burgund – Young is starting the “Film Fanatic Movie Nights” as a rallying point for a new appreciation group, stylized as the Film-Fanatic.Club. Per their website where one can keep tabs on events and sign up to become a member or patron, the goal is “[t]o curate themed movie nights, director spotlights, and special screenings that emphasize the shared cinematic experience with films that come alive on the big screen and inspire lively post-screening conversations over drinks. Each screening is treated as an event, complete with introductions, discussions, bonus short subjects, and extras.”
In other words, to throw the C-U a sophisticated movie party on the regular. Yes, please! To that lofty end, Young has chosen a doozy of an underappreciated modern film to launch the Movie Nights – THE FALL, an opulent fantasia shot over several years and around the world by Tarsem Singh (THE CELL) about a laid-up stuntman, played by Lee Pace, who befriends in the hospital a young girl, played by Catinca Untaru, and spins tales of high adventure to help keep both of their spirits alive.
Released to little fanfare almost twenty years ago and hard to see and appreciate since, THE FALL has recently undergone a 4K restoration shepherded by Singh and was picked up for representation in North America by the high-end streaming platform MUBI, which has not resulted in either a substantial theatrical re-release or a physical release; on an average day in 2025, those who would like to experience THE FALL can find several avenues to stream it or could seek out a UHD/Blu-ray import from an Australian label, Umbrella Entertainment, which luckily is region free. MUBI has been scheduling one-off appearances of THE FALL at prestigious film festivals in our part of the world and, as we now know, offering it for rental. This is why the Movie Club’s booking is special, for we might not otherwise see it publicly here in the C-U.
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There is the distinct impression that Young has been building towards this for some time. As a chef who hosts cooking classes and full-course tastings through the Urbana Park District, it makes sense to have Movie Nights at a venue like Gallery where he’ll have the freedom to incorporate treats and drink specials that relate to what’s up on the screen. And, as a film buff whose diverse taste could not help but shine through in the pages of The Octopus (née The Optimist), the alternative weekly he founded and published in Champaign-Urbana for several years beginning in 1995, he is sure to embrace a wide range of selections for sharing with an audience and keeping it engaging. Unique parings here can be endless.
Gallery Art Bar, from its very name to its prime location in the heart of downtown Urbana, seems like an inspired home base for the club even if select shows are staged elsewhere. We hope this debut presentation of THE FALL, which will be co-hosted by our friend Nat Dykeman of the Chambana Film Society, is successful and the start of a reliable showcase that can easily commingle with Chambana and the CU International Film Festival while replenishing the cinema void to be left once Roger Ebert’s Film Festival bows out for good. Go enjoy and lend your voice to this communal venture, dearest viewers.
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CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
110 years ago … December 1915: The Macmillan Company of New York publishes what cinema historians will eventually consider the first English-language book to seriously appreciate the aesthetics of film, The Art of the Moving Picture, written by the Springfield, Illinois-raised poet and essayist Vachel Lindsay. Rarely appearing in bibliographies of his work is a follow-up entitled The Progress and Poetry of the Movies, released well after the untimely passing of Lindsay (1879-1931) and hard to find today. Conversely, both the 1915 and 1922 editions of Moving Picture can easily be accessed as electronic or print, including a 2000 reissue from Random House that is guest edited by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and features an introduction by the late Stanley Kaufmann, film reviewer at The New Republic for more than a half century. [R] Project Gutenberg eBook
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (12/15, 7 p.m.)
@ Gallery Art Bar, Urbana, IL
Film Fanatic Movie Nights* presents THE FALL (12/18, 6:30 & 9:30 p.m.)
@ Martens Center, Champaign Park District, Champaign, IL
Pens to Lens* Student Screenwriting Workshop (12/16, 6 p.m. registration required)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents “The Savoy Arthouse” feat. SONG SUNG BLUE (2008) (documentary) (12/14, 3 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
DUST BUNNY, ELLA McCAY, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS* 25th anniversary (re-release), NOT WITHOUT HOPE, SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT, DHURANDHAR* (in Hindi with English sub), ETERNITY, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2, JUJUTSU KAISEN: EXECUTION (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR* (re-release), NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T,WICKED: FOR GOOD, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (12/12 on), DAVID sneak preview (12/14, 2 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (12/15, 7 p.m.), AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, DAVID (faith animation), HAMNET, THE HOUSEMAID, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (animation) (12/18 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ELLA McCAY, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS 25th anniversary (re-release), SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT, ETERNITY, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2, JUJUTSU KAISEN: EXECUTION (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub), NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T, NUREMBERG, RENTAL FAMILY, THE RUNNING MAN*, WICKED: FOR GOOD, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (12/12 on), Indian cinema: KIS KISKO PAYAAR KAROON 2* (in Hindi with English sub; 12/12-12/16), MOWGLI (in Telugu with English sub; 12/12-12/16), PADAYAPPA* (in Tamil with English sub; 12/12-12/16), AKHANDA 2: THAANDAVAM* (in Telugu with English sub; 12/12-12/16), and DHURANDHAR (in Hindi with English sub; 12/12-12/16), The Metropolitan Opera: Andrea Chénier (12/13, 12 p.m., simulcast; 12/17, 12 & 5:30 p.m., recorded), DICK VAN DYKE: 100TH CELEBRATION (documentary) (12/13-12/14, 4 & 7 p.m.), THE SHINING (12/13, 4 & 9:30 p.m., 12/14, 6:30 & 9:45 p.m.; IMAX), ROLLING STONES: AT THE MAX (concert film) (12/13, 7:15 p.m., 12/14, 4:15 p.m.; IMAX), CHRISTINA AGUILERA: CHRISTMAS IN PARIS (concert special) (12/14, 7 p.m.), DAVID sneak preview (12/14, 2 p.m.), THE CASE FOR MIRACLES (religious docudrama) (12/15-12/18, 7:30 p.m.), AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, DAVID (faith animation), THE HOUSEMAID, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (animation) (12/18 on) *single screenings daily
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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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
THE POLAR EXPRESS “Movie Experience” (12/14, 12, 3 & 6 p.m.)
@ Golden Ticket Cinemas Ale House, Bloomington, IL
ELLA McCAY, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS 25th anniversary (re-release), FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2, WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY, WICKED: FOR GOOD, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (12/12 on), ARTHUR CHRISTMAS (animation) (12/13-12/14, 10 & 10:15 a.m.), DAVID sneak preview (12/14, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.), THE CASE FOR MIRACLES (religious docudrama) (12/16-12/18), AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, DAVID (faith animation), THE HOUSEMAID (12/18 on)
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
Closed for the season.
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS 25th anniversary (12/12-12/14), THE POLAR EXPRESS (12/17, 7 p.m., free), AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH (12/18 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS (12/12), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, HOME ALONE, BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) (12/13), JINGLE ALL THE WAY, WHITE CHRISTMAS, TOKYO GODFATHERS (animé) (12/14), THE THIN MAN (12/15), IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (12/16), A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938) (12/17), NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (12/18)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (12/12-12/14)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (12/12-12/14), DAVID sneak preview (faith animation) (12/14, 12 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read Reel Chicago, Screen Magazine, and the Chicago Reader.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
12/20
Chicago Filmmakers presents “Picture ReStart” short film series
feat. final program, “Bringing It All Back Home”
@ Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema, Chicago, IL, 6 p.m.
1/16-1/18, 2026
Champaign Movie Makers* “48-Hour Film Competition”
@ Lincoln Square, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
4/3-4/10, 2026
28th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/9-4/12, 2026
36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Society presents “The Savoy Arthouse”
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 3 p.m. unless noted otherwise
12/21: LOCKE; 12/28: “Short Docs” program
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2025 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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