Calendar: May 22-28, 2026
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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THE BLOGFIDENTIAL TELETYPE | Film News You Can Use, C-U
What we’re seeing on our beat this week … Putting back on our reporter’s cap just so, we are embarking on a few consecutive outings of Prompt-a-Palooza in which we’ll plunk down a cache of headlines and stories for your consideration, dearest readers. The theme for this Teletype is “students,” now that the graduating class at the University of Illinois has completed their respective journeys on the Urbana campus and all the other young learners at area schools and colleges are about to head into the summertime …
We gather that you already knew about UI College of Media alumnus Sean Evans, creator and host of the popular “Hot Ones” YouTube program on the “First We Feast” channel, returning to give the Class of 2026 a commencement speech; here is the transcript of the upbeat and earnest words he shared on Saturday, May 16. Just as admirable from a career-making perspective is that UI School of Information Sciences alumnus Daniel Kraus, already a best-selling and award-winning author with work published and translated the world over, was just awarded the fiction book Pulitzer Prize for his 2025 novel Angel Down (Atria Books) and co-wrote the screenplay for the upcoming nautical thriller WHALEFALL, based on his previous novel of the same name, which was directed by Brian Duffield (UNDERWATER, NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU) and will be released in October by 20th Century Studios. As more of a feel-good, reach-for-the-stars note than anything, NASA has inducted a pair of retired space explorers into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame including Joe Tanner, a Danville native who earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering in the Seventies from what is now the UI Granger College of Engineering and flew aircraft while serving in the Navy before training for missions outside our atmosphere; he and Tom Akers were honored on May 16 at the space shuttle Atlantis exhibit in the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida …
And there are the current and just-graduated students, what were they up to? The Daily Illini did them a solid by filing articles on both of the showcases hosted at the UI Spurlock Museum of World Cultures earlier this month – the Illinois Student Film Festival, a smorgasbord of shorts made by undergraduates from all corners of the campus and organized by their peers taking the MACS 366 “Film Festivals” course, on Saturday, May 2, and the MACS Student Showcase, composed of pieces that were created as classwork by the majors enrolled in Media and Cinema Studies, College of Media, on Saturday, May 9. Broadcast reporters at WPGU-FM also earned an extra credit for the cause by producing a documentary segment about one team whose film was shown in the former event; Episode 4 of “Amplified” tells the story of director Kris Modi, writer Joe Wilson, and their short, ITCH, about a woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). One twin cities over, The Vidette highlighted a film project that talks about using textiles and repurposed goods to design wearable fashions and confront the status quo; NON-COMPLIANCE was premiered on the Illinois State University campus back on April 27 and made by ISU students Zac Talbot and Brice Banning, covering the latter’s efforts to echo the history of social justice and art in America through their original creations that were paraded by models during the spring semester fashion show. You can watch it on YouTube …
Let’s close this jam-packed lesson with something that both children and teenagers can be involved with along with their college-aged neighbors! The annual “Shortcuts” program, sponsored by the Illinois Film Office in association with 815HORTS and the Plus Seven Company, just opened their window for young folks to enter their films in the hopes of being selected to play the fifth annual 815HORTS Film Festival in Rockford this November; go here and then click the banner for more information … and that’s what we can reveal for today. Always remember – this is not just movies, it’s our lives.
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society* presents Savoy Lumierè 2026* post-show feat. TIGHT & NERDY (documentary) w/burlesque performance, MAYBE IT’S THIS short film preview (6 p.m.) Information
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
GODZILLA MINUS ONE* (re-release) (in Japanese with English sub), I LOVE BOOSTERS, PASSENGER, STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, IN THE GREY*, IS GOD IS*, MICHAEL, MORTAL KOMBAT II, OBSESSION, THE SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE* (animation) (5/22 on), THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETY “sensory friendly” show (animé; English dub) (5/23,12:45 p.m.), PRESSURE sneak preview (5/25, 2 p.m.), BACKROOMS, THE BREADWINNER (5/28 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
DRISHYAM 3 (in Malayalam or Telugu with English sub), I LOVE BOOSTERS, PASSENGER, STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, HOKUM, IN THE GREY, IS GOD IS, OBSESSION, MICHAEL, MORTAL KOMBAT II, PROJECT HAIL MARY, THE SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), TOP GUN* 40th anniversary (re-release), TOP GUN: MAVERICK* (re-release) (5/22 on), LEGALLY BLONDE* 25th anniversary (5/24, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5/27, 7 p.m.), GREASE (5/24, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5/27, 7 p.m.), BACKROOMS, THE BREADWINNER (5/28 on) *single screenings daily
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. BACK TO THE FUTURE (5/28, 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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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
“Pickle Fest 2026” feat. STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 (Screen 1), THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE (animation), MORTAL KOMBAT II (Screen 2) (5/22-5/24), STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (Screen 1), MORTAL KOMBAT II (Screen 2) (5/25-5/27), STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (Screen 1), BACKROOMS (Screen 2) (5/28)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (5/22-5/24, 5/28 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
Alfred Hitchcock: ROPE (5/22, 7 p.m.), NOTORIOUS (5/23, 3 p.m.), SPELLBOUND (5/23, 7 p.m.), DIAL ‘M’ FOR MURDER (5/24, 3 p.m.), FAMILY PLOT (5/24, 7 p.m.), M*A*S*H (5/28, 7 p.m.)
@ Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, IL
Film Society of the Giant Screen Theater presents “Art of Film: American Realism” curated by A. S. Hamrah feat. BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS (5/22, 5/24)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (5/22-5/24)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 (Screen 1), MICHAEL, MORTAL KOMBAT II (Screen 2) (5/22-5/24, 5/28-5/29)
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
8/22
Halloran Family Foundation presents
FischerFest* “Big Stories, Short Films”
@ Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL, 3-10 p.m., free
9/7-9/17
44th Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
@ Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
NEW! 9/23-9/27
33rd Chicago Underground Film Festival
@ ACX Harper Theater – Hyde Park, Chicago, IL
NEW! 10/8-10/18
35th Heartland Film Festival
@ various venues, Indianapolis, IN
NEW! 11/20-11/22
25th anniversary Route 66 Film Festival*
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Society presents “Savoy Lumierè 2026 post-screenings”
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
5/22: TIGHT & NERDY (documentary) w/burlesque performance, MAYBE IT’S THIS short film preview (7 p.m.)
Film Society presents “Art of Film: American Realism” curated by A. S. Hamrah
@ Giant Screen Theater, Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, IL
5/29, 5/31: HUSTLE; 6/12, 6/14: DANCER IN THE DARK; 6/19, 6/21: STROSZEK; 6/26, 6/28: KAJILLIONAIRE; 7/3, 7/5: LEAVE NO TRACE
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad”
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 9 p.m. Thursdays, free
6/4: HOPPERS; 6/11: JURASSIC PARK; 6/18: ZOOTOPIA 2; 6/25: JAWS; 7/2: GREASE; 7/9: MICHAEL; 7/16: WICKED; 7/23: COCO; 7/30: POWER BALLAD; 8/6: PROJECT HAIL MARY; 8/13: STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2026 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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