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\u201cOh, right<\/em>.\u201d My grassroots journalist\u2019s inner voice is croaking back to life as I move forward on creating a fresh flow of content for C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong>. \u201cWhere there is post planning, there also<\/em> is post shuffling when new information comes to light, man<\/em>.\u201d I had our August articles lined up on the Calendar<\/strong> of my mind, but now I have to relocate a couple of them and allow for something else to be pondered on short notice. How does a first-time local film festival sound to you<\/em>, dearest readers? Privately, I\u2019d been wondering why it\u2019s taken the C-U so long to start filling its own void. \u201cEbertfest<\/strong>\u201d covers only so much ground.<\/p>\n Since I don\u2019t walk the Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> beat on the regular anymore, it takes a host of fits, starts, tips, tricks, and intense internet click-a-thons to hunt down the news fit to post. Thanks to the good eggs like Confidential agent Game Piece<\/strong>, I\u2019m often pointed in the right direction from afar. In turn, I\u2019ll point you to FilmFreeway<\/strong> so you can read over the instructions for submitting work<\/a><\/span> to the inaugural CU International Film Festival<\/strong> (CUIFF), which is scheduled for Saturday, October 22<\/strong>, at the auditorium of the UI Spurlock Museum of World Cultures<\/strong> in Urbana. Its organizer(s) is aiming to \u201centertain, educate, and elevate\u201d through their selections and are looking for works to satisfy three categories, \u201cHigh School Student,\u201d \u201cCollege Student,\u201d and \u201cShort Film,\u201d with compelling content that doesn\u2019t push past the equivalence of the MPA<\/strong> \u201cPG-13\u201d rating or run longer than 30 minutes. Everything is spelled out for you at FilmFreeway, such as the fact that Monday, August 15<\/strong>, is the late (and final) deadline to enter. Get to it, friends.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Elsewhere, the official website for CUIFF<\/a><\/span> \u2013 yes, the acronym and URL teeter a bit close to what has been used for so long by the Chicago Underground Film Festival<\/strong>, which wrapped for 2022 a few days ago \u2013 promises a full experience for creators and attendees that will include \u201cpanel discussions, award presentations, and a red-carpet gala.\u201d All elements of the tried-and-true film festival archetype, it\u2019s a description that can\u2019t help but call to mind the ceremonial aspects of Pens to Lens<\/strong> (P2L), a significant allusion for a couple of reasons. While the site boasts a respectable group of advisory board members and an array of local and national partners, there is no staff listed as of yet unless I missed it. Given that show time is less than three months away, I hope it\u2019s okay that we give some early credit to a behind-the-scenes ambassador of CUIFF, the young and prolific Max Libman<\/strong>, for stepping into a role here.<\/p>\n It\u2019s undeniable that Libman, who will soon begin his junior year at Academy High<\/strong> of Champaign, is pretty taken with the possibilities. Last year, he won a second-place award in the annual \u201cIllinois Radon Video Contest<\/strong>\u201d for students<\/a><\/span>, sponsored in part by the American Lung Association<\/strong>, for his 30-second public service announcement (PSA) on how to detect the dangerous gas at home. Previously, he participated in the P2L screenwriting competition<\/a><\/span> and his entry became EIN STERN<\/strong> (A STAR<\/strong>) in 2018; produced by Jon<\/strong> and Alison Lecouris<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, it retells in stark terms how Libman\u2019s great-grandmother, who lived in Poland<\/strong> as a Jewish teenager during the Nazi occupation, came to the United States<\/strong>. Another short that he produced on his own, ADVENTURES OF FILMMAKING<\/strong>, won a \u201cStudent Filmmaking Competition<\/strong>\u201d award<\/a><\/span> at P2L in 2017. He also hosted a community presentation on the Holocaust<\/strong><\/span><\/a> while in eighth grade at Countryside School<\/strong> in Champaign and it apparently attracted a packed house.<\/p>\n Sure, Libman is busy, and clearly, Libman has plenty of support and guidance from the adults and friends in his life, so it\u2019s nice to see Libman do his part to help fashion a vehicle for quality cinema that is also aiming to affect good change. The C-U doesn\u2019t have too much going on in the public space for specialty film other than Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival<\/strong>, the catalog titles booked by the Virginia Theatre<\/strong>, and Pens to Lens if <\/em>Pens to Lens is going to continue. (After premiering their program on Facebook<\/strong> the last two years to work around COVID-19<\/strong> concerns, P2L is been all but silent this year. See their outdated website<\/a><\/span> and social media<\/a><\/span> for evidence.) Our community is not completely stagnant on the film culture front, but it could use a few jolts of energy and new blood right about now. Good luck to whomever is behind this endeavor.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n