<\/p>\n
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday\/Saturday on <\/em>C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!<\/strong><\/p>\n 4\/28: John Isberg (director\/producer, FINAL SUMMER PART II, Swede Films, Champaign-Urbana, IL) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n This weekend will be a good weekend to stay indoors and keep active, which is what the continual chorus of drips and splatters coming from outside of MFHQ Deux<\/strong> are signaling to us, so we\u2019d like to Report<\/strong> on the deluge of student body film showcases at our doorstep. That said, let\u2019s be careful out there<\/a><\/span> en route<\/em> to the events as we navigate cicadas, storms, protestors, marathoners, and pre-finals revelers.<\/p>\n The larger opportunities are afoot in both pairs of Twin Cities, yet we\u2019ll be damned if we can share much of anything<\/em> about them, and we encourage you to take the chance by attending so you can see what tomorrow\u2019s potential media storytellers are saying today. The Illinois State University<\/strong>-based Foxtail Film Festival<\/strong> continues its sophomore run at the Normal Theater<\/strong> in downtown Normal<\/strong> today, Friday, April 26<\/strong>, and tomorrow, Saturday, April 27<\/strong>, with 7 p.m.<\/strong> presentations; you can glean from the official website an itinerary of film titles and their youthful directors<\/a><\/span>, as well as the promise of juried and audience honors, but there is little else<\/a><\/span> across all their social media platforms<\/a><\/span>. The featured (adult) filmmaker and workshop presenter is Danielle Beverly<\/strong> of Northwestern University<\/strong>, who introduced her recent documentary QATAR STARS<\/strong> at the kickoff event for Foxtail last night. Presumably, highlights and a recap will be forthcoming.<\/p>\n A similar sense of reservation could be noted with the UIUC Student Film Festival<\/strong>, now fully integrated under the College of Media<\/strong> and following closely on the heels of \u201cEbertfest<\/strong>,\u201d<\/a><\/span> which also takes place tonight, April 26<\/strong>, at 7 p.m.<\/strong> in the Knight Auditorium<\/strong> of the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures<\/strong> in Urbana<\/strong>. All the previous online presence that was designed for prior iterations of this event<\/a><\/span> seems to be outdated or simply gone<\/em>, and we\u2019re left with a Facebook<\/strong> account that teases little<\/a><\/span> except for a program with names and entries as well as a token post at Media<\/a><\/span> with a show poster and livestream feed. We realize that both are the sum results of classwork team efforts \u2013 COM 334<\/strong> at ISU and MACS 366<\/strong> at Illinois<\/strong>, respectively \u2013 with the expected learning curves and corners cut due to time and resources. It just feels like the students themselves are all but expelled from the public face of the programs. Presumably, faculty has reasons.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n We wonder if a smaller scale with less pomp and circumstance would be a better approach for these kinds of end-of-the-school-year capstones and, indeed, a scaled-back emphasis on the \u201cfeather in my cap\u201d aspects<\/a><\/span> for the professionals involved. There are ready examples scheduled for right around the corner, now that our area\u2019s liberal arts colleges have been able to establish their own media production tracks, and you can go judge for yourselves while showing attentiveness and support for these kids. The fourth annual Phenom Film Festival<\/strong> at Illinois Wesleyan University<\/strong> in Bloomington<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, organized by associate professor of theater arts Thomas Quinn<\/strong>, will take place on Monday, April 29, 7 p.m.<\/strong>, at the Hansen Student Center<\/strong>, while the Images in Motion Film Festival<\/span><\/strong> at Millikin University<\/strong> in Decatur<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, overseen by Eric Hector<\/strong>, associate professor in the School of Art & Creative Media<\/strong>, is scheduled for Sunday, April 28, 6 p.m.<\/strong>, at the Perkinson Music Center<\/strong>\u2019s Kaeuper Hall<\/strong>; the latter will also entertain a visit from Peter Hawley<\/strong>, director of the Illinois Film Office<\/strong>. Both are free to attend and open to the general public.<\/p>\n All told, we should<\/em> be making a fuss about these formalized opportunities for young people to get a solid taste of the trades from our institutions that factor into filmmaking and film presentation. Ten years ago, we only had a precursor to the Illinois student showcase, called \u201cMovies to the MACS<\/strong>,\u201d and it was staged as an in-class final project with no intention of attempting to draw an audience outside of those enrolled in the course. (One year, it did<\/em> draw a couple of guest judges: then-Art Theater<\/strong> operator Sanford Hess<\/strong> and your humble editor.) Instruction for credit on how to create<\/em> media was also rare to find. Let\u2019s value the not-far-from-home options of today for our students in higher education, as it\u2019s not just<\/em> them who can benefit in positive ways from what they accomplish. Keep up the growth, academic cinema folks du C-U.<\/p>\n p.s.<\/em> The coincidence of today\u2019s Almanac entry is not lost on us. It only took the colleges of downstate Illinois <\/strong>nearly a century<\/em> to figure out how to not rely on camera-toting travelers to teach our children well.<\/p>\n p.s.2<\/em> Thirty years ago, Ye Ed<\/strong> was one year out of IWU and Ye Webmaster<\/strong> was about to graduate from Millikin. We attempted a couple of side projects at the time and, trust us, there was nothing doing<\/em> with video on either campus. Therefore, we didn\u2019t know what the hell we were getting into. True story.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History<\/strong><\/p>\n 105 Years Ago<\/strong> \u2026 Monday, April 28, 1919:<\/em> A lighthearted moving picture called LOVE\u2019S YOUNG DREAM<\/strong> premieres at the New Orpheum Theatre<\/strong> in downtown Champaign, IL<\/strong>, the result of a unique collaboration that has kept the Twin Cities buzzing. According to several reports published by the Daily Illini <\/span><\/strong> in the past month, promoter Joseph Maddern<\/strong> and Orpheum manager R.V. Mallory<\/strong> set the intrigue in motion when they announced a casting call for a film comedy<\/span><\/a> \u2013 \u201cYou may become a famous star!\u201d the advertising boasted \u2013 to be made primarily at the Orpheum itself with local talent. Maddern, a former Broadway<\/strong> actor and producer for the Keystone<\/strong> and Path\u00e9<\/strong> film companies, took up residence aside the Orpheum\u2019s regular program of vaudeville acts to present \u201cMaking Movies<\/strong>,\u201d during which audiences had the opportunity to watch the creation of LOVE\u2019S YOUNG DREAM<\/strong>. Tom Ward<\/strong>, the director of the project, led his crew to use the Orpheum\u2019s traditional stage as if it were a movie stage in Hollywood<\/strong>, completing one or two scenes per \u201cperformance\u201d for a full week beginning on Monday, April 14<\/strong>. Panoramic views of the auditorium filled with curiosity seekers were taken at each show and figure in the final reel, just like the images these impresarios captured two weeks ago at the University of Illinois<\/strong><\/span><\/a> with students busying themselves on the quadrangle and in Lincoln Hall<\/strong>. The completed version of LOVE\u2019S YOUNG DREAM<\/strong> will play the Orpheum through Saturday, May 3<\/strong>, sharing the bill with comedians, singers, dramatists, xylophonists, a jazz quintet, and Wanda, \u201cthe seal with a human brain.\u201d Ward and Maddern would keep their demonstration on the road for at least several years, appearing as late as December 1923<\/span><\/a> in the Englewood<\/strong> neighborhood of Chicago<\/strong>. The former is forgotten today except for this line of hucksterism and brief appearances on the silent silver screen<\/a><\/span>; the latter is noted as a contract director on the Mack Sennett<\/strong>\/Keystone comedy short, TWENTY MINUTES OF LOVE<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, regarded by some scholars as the first film where upcoming star Charlie Chaplin<\/strong> exerted his creative influence over the final product. [R]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers<\/strong><\/p>\n @ Golden Corral, Springfield, IL<\/strong> @ Hansen Student Center, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL<\/strong> @ Normal Theater, Normal, IL<\/strong> @ Perkinson Music Center, Millikin University, Decatur, IL<\/strong> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong> @ Spurlock Museum for World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area<\/strong><\/p>\n @ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong> @ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong>
\n4\/29: Sophie McMahan Berkley (artist, Sophie McMahan, Urbana, IL)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCentral Illinois Film Commission* meeting (5\/2, 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. meeting)<\/p>\n
\nIWU presents the fourth annual Phenom Film Festival* (4\/29, 7 p.m., Hansen Student Center, free)<\/p>\n
\nSchools of Communications, Theatre and Dance, and Art and COM 334, ISU, present the second annual Foxtail Film Festival* (Workshop, 4\/26, 3 p.m.; Regional Showcase, 4\/26, 7 p.m.; Competitive Showcase, 4\/27, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nMU presents the Images in Motion Film Festival* (4\/28, 6 p.m., Kaeuper Hall)<\/p>\n
\nChambana Film Festival presents TRAPPED BALLOON (4\/28, 4 p.m.)<\/p>\n
\nDepartment of Media and Cinema Studies and MACS 366, College of Media, UIUC, and the Jonathan Laxamana Endowment Fund present the UIUC Student Film Festival* 2024 (4\/26, 7 p.m., Knight Auditorium, free)<\/p>\n
\nALIEN (re-release), BOY KILLS WORLD, CHALLENGERS, THE MUMMY (1999) (re-release), UNSUNG HERO (faith film), WE GROWN NOW, ABIGAIL, CIVIL WAR, GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE, GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE, KUNG FU PANDA 4 (animation), THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE, MONKEY MAN*, SASQUATCH SUNSET*, SPY X FAMILY \u2013 CODE: WHITE (anim\u00e9) (English dub or in Japanese with English sub) (4\/26 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: SPIRITED AWAY (anim\u00e9) (4\/27, 3 p.m., 4\/29, 7 p.m., 5\/1, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 4\/28, 3:15 & 7:15 p.m., 4\/30, 7 p.m., English dub), THE FALL GUY, TAROT (5\/2 on) *single screenings daily<\/p>\n
\nALIEN (re-release), BOY KILLS WORLD, CHALLENGERS, THE MUMMY (1999) (re-release), UNSUNG HERO (faith film), ABIGAIL, CIVIL WAR, DUNE: PART TWO, THE FIRST OMEN, GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE, GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE, KUNG FU PANDA 4 (animation), THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE, MONKEY MAN, SOMEONE LIKE YOU, SPY X FAMILY \u2013 CODE: WHITE (anim\u00e9) (English dub or in Japanese with English sub) (4\/26 on), SASQUATCH SUNSET (4\/26-4\/27), Studio Ghibli Fest: SPIRITED AWAY (anim\u00e9) (4\/27, 3 p.m., 4\/29, 7 p.m., 5\/1, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 4\/28, 3 & 7 p.m., 4\/30, 7 p.m., English dub), THE MATRIX (4\/28, 3 & 7 p.m.; 5\/1, 7 p.m.), THE FALL GUY, JEANNE DU BARRY, TAROT (5\/2 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cSpring 2024 Weekend Films\u201d feat. THE BOOK OF CLARENCE, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (4\/26-4\/27, 7 p.m.; free w\/i-card)<\/p>\n