Art book, film fests feel CULove
A grand Friday to you, community stewards of cinema craziness here in Champaign-Urbana! We’d like to update you on a trio of projects receiving the vaunted C-U Blogfidential touch as we rumble spookily towards that time of year we adore wholeheartedly, Halloween season!
Up first is our formal confirmation that, indeed, the next issue of print companion C-U Confidential is on track to be placed in the hands of our trusted long-time printer, the Premier Print Group of Champaign, next week! Our distribution plot is to engage in an immediate hard launch once we receive those sweet-smelling cartons back from Premier. CUZine #7 will recap in detail all the recent film culture we can cram into 32 pages, including two special pieces we’ll preview for you right now!
An exclusive “scene” article will provide you with a rapid-fire guide to the upcoming regional festivals: the Freeky Creek Short Film Festival in Fairmount (October 31-November 2), the Route 66 International Film Festival in Springfield (November 1-2), the Drunken Zombie Film Festival in Peoria (November 2-3), and the Embarras Valley Film Festival in Charleston (November 7-9). We hope this will inspire readers to investigate one or more of these events as they unfold within a bustling 10-day stretch!
We are also delighted to announce that, for the first time in eons, CUZine is an event sponsor outside our regular shepherding duties at the New Art Film Festival. Look for our logo and overall presence at this year’s Drunken Zombie fest, set to infest the Landmark Cinemas, 3225 N. Dries Lane, Peoria. Crossing fingers we can mop up our own bloody mess at the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters in time to visit DZFF in person; check them out if aggressive, full-on indie horror is your fall flavor of choice!
Another awesome spread in CUZine #7 is a sneak peek at a local history title, The Art Theater: Playing Movies for 100 Years by Perry C. Morris, Joe Muskin, and Audrey Wells, which will be unveiled two weeks after we street. During the 6 p.m. “100th anniversary” program on Tuesday, November 12, at the Art Co-op, 126 W. Church St., Champaign, the authors will talk about and sell their 166-page labor of love recounting the Art’s first century in existence. We can also reveal your humble editor had the distinct honor of designing The Art Theater at his daytime gig, Adept Content Solutions of Urbana.
It is apparent from this convergence of activity in the C-U that everything Confidential is having a solid impact upon our homegrown culture, and for these opportunities we are grateful. Keep us in the know and on call, gang!
~ Jason Pankoke