{"id":302,"date":"2008-10-29T02:03:55","date_gmt":"2008-10-29T08:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=302"},"modified":"2014-09-06T14:58:40","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T20:58:40","slug":"cuff-channels-hoopeston-oct-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=302","title":{"rendered":"CUFF visits HOOPESTON Oct. 30"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not long after we first learned about the documentary<\/a> HOOPESTON<\/strong>, New York City<\/strong> filmmaker Thomas Bender<\/strong> kindly floated a screener to the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters<\/strong>. This portrait of the small Illinois community which the Lorraine Theatre<\/strong> calls home<\/a>\u00a0juxtaposes footage of a rustic America with stories of an ailing economy, conflicting values, and the emergence of a local\u00a0“witch school.” Told with an understated hand, HOOPESTON<\/strong> doesn’t provide any resolution to the struggles of these townsolk but addresses their conundrum with bittersweet hope and good humor.<\/p>\n

Next month, Bender’s production company SYNYDYNE<\/strong> will release a DVD for HOOPESTON<\/strong> after the film plays the Chicago Underground Film Festival<\/a><\/strong> this Thursday, October 30, 10:30 p.m.<\/strong>, at the Viaduct Theatre, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL<\/strong>. Further information can be found after the jump, and don’t forget to check C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> in the coming weeks for an exclusive interview with Bender.<\/p>\n

Also, an official page for HOOPESTON<\/strong> resides here<\/a> while the curious can learn about the paganism<\/a> praticed by the aforementioned\u00a0Witch School<\/strong>. Incidentally, the institution relocated during the summer to Rossville<\/strong>, a small town near Danville<\/strong>, not long after the film made its debut at the final New York Underground Film Festival<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

~ Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

From October 13, 2008:<\/em><\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Witches in the Midwest<\/strong>
\nFeature-length documentary HOOPESTON to enjoy Midwest premiere at Chicago Underground Film Festival, DVD release<\/em><\/p>\n

Witches will come out a day early this year. HOOPESTON<\/strong>, a feature-length documentary about an Illinois<\/strong> town and its Witch School<\/strong>, will play in the Chicago Underground Film Festival<\/strong> on October 30<\/strong>, the night before Halloween<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Produced by SYNYDYNE<\/strong>, HOOPESTON<\/strong> tells the story of the former “Sweet Corn Capital of the World” through the lives of its residents. A\u00a0laborer struggles to find work, a young entrepreneur buys the only motel in town, the police chief battles a drug epidemic, and the Correllian Chancellor lays plans for a vast Crystal Web. The film balances the stark beauty of rural Illinois with candid and moving interviews from a variety of subjects. It features an original score by composer Todd Mazierski<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“People haven’t seen a movie like this before,” says Jake Bakkila<\/strong>, the film’s interviewer and producer. “It’s a story of upheaval, futility, and crystal magic \u2013 all set against the twilight of small-town America.”<\/p>\n

HOOPESTON<\/strong> premiered to sold-out theaters at the New York Underground Film Festival<\/strong> in April. Its screening at Chicago Underground is the film’s Midwest premiere, just two hours north of the eponymous Hoopeston, IL<\/strong>. After its run in Chicago, the documentary will be available for purchase on DVD.<\/p>\n

“Since NYUFF, so many people have gotten in touch with me asking how they can see HOOPESTON<\/strong>. It’s great that we can finally bring it to a Midwestern audience,” says director Thomas Bender<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

HOOPESTON<\/strong> received finishing funds from the newly-formed Milwaukee Tourism Commission<\/strong> (MTC), a privately-funded bureau that aims to promote Midwestern growth and rebuilding.<\/p>\n

“If we want the Midwest to recover, people need to hear Midwestern stories,” said MTC President and CEO Larose Burton<\/strong>. “I saw HOOPESTON<\/strong> at the New York Underground [Film Festival] \u2013 and I had SYNYDYNE on the phone before the credits started rolling.”<\/p>\n

HOOPESTON<\/strong> plays in the Chicago Underground Film Festival on Thursday, October 30, 2008<\/strong>, at 10:30 p.m.<\/strong> The showing is at the Viaduct Theatre<\/strong> (Screen #1), located at 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL<\/strong>. Tickets are available in advance through www.cuff.org<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

CONTACT:<\/strong>
\nThomas Bender<\/strong>, Director
\nbender [at] synydyne [dot] com<\/strong>
\nJake Bakkila<\/strong>, Producer
\nbakkila\u00a0[at] synydyne [dot] com<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

[Yipee! This is post #250 on CUBlog<\/strong>. Here’s to 250 more!]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 15th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival will give the Midwest its first public look at the documentary HOOPESTON, produced by New York-based indie SYNYDYNE, this Thursday, October 30, 2008.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,13],"tags":[87,85,86],"class_list":["post-302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-area-festivals","category-public-events","tag-chicago-underground-film-festival","tag-hoopeston-the-movie","tag-thomas-bender"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}