{"id":4120,"date":"2011-11-05T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2011-11-05T15:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=4120"},"modified":"2014-09-06T14:53:12","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T20:53:12","slug":"c-u-biz-en-scene-11-05-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=4120","title":{"rendered":"C-U Biz-en-sc\u00e8ne: 11.05.2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cC-U Biz-en-sc\u00e8ne\u201d appears every Thursday\/Friday on <\/em>C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> to give our readers a succinct snapshot of the cinema activity in and near <\/em>Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA<\/strong>. Please support the artists and their work, attend screenings and events, and otherwise become active in our esoteric little world!<\/em><\/p>\n

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

MFHQ & YOU:<\/strong>
\n Stayin\u2019 Alive, Part 4: It\u2019s the Festivals by the Rest of Us<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New Art Film Festival<\/strong>, co-produced by C-U Blogfidential<\/strong> and the Art Theater<\/strong>, unexpectedly attracted a massive crowd back in April. Given the skimpy attendance levels during the first NAFF a year prior, we were fortunate and grateful for this turn of events, particularly since the fest is designed to showcase homegrown filmmaking during an arts-centric umbrella event, the Boneyard Arts Festival<\/strong> of Champaign County<\/strong>. This fall, CUBlog<\/strong> has continued to do its part by calling attention to and appearing at other area presentations of independent cinema and, unfortunately, we don\u2019t like what we\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the quality of the films; stretching back to the earliest days of MICRO-FILM<\/strong>, we\u2019ve given the pep talk several times about how the trade-off for experiencing variety in a festival setting is that one may need to endure the iffy to discover the essential, according to one\u2019s personal tastes. It\u2019s also not the overall presentation of the films; operating on modest means, the respective organizers clearly installed or gained access to agreeable projection and sound equipment while arranging their spaces to allow a maximum number of viewers comfortably. It\u2019s not even the non-CUBlog<\/strong> press the events garnered; each camp did make an effort to keep fans updated on film selections, guests, and special events through Facebook<\/strong> and the like, while area newspapers, radio stations, television channels, and Web pages provided a fair amount of visibility if not the most comprehensive coverage one might wish for.<\/p>\n

However, CUBlog<\/strong> hardly anticipated sitting in with tiny audiences numbering roughly between five and 25 individuals every time<\/em> we managed to show up. These instances included the first and last evenings of the IMC Film Festival<\/strong>, opening night of the Freeky Creek Short Film Festival<\/strong>, the concluding \u201cBest of Fest\u201d block and awards ceremony at the Route 66 International Film Festival<\/strong>, and several B-movie outings organized by Psychic Joker Entertainment<\/strong> at SoDo Theatre<\/strong>. Folks behind the various shows confirmed with CUBlog<\/strong> that heftier crowds did<\/em> materialize during other segments, such as the politically charged second night of IMCFF and the final evening of Freeky Creek attended by Chris Landreth, Nina Paley<\/strong>, and a giant evil Easter Bunny<\/strong> cake, which makes us feel a little bit better but not nearly<\/em> good enough about it.<\/p>\n

What caused this paltry showing in the proverbial aisle seats, exactly? The lack of marquee name value, an underlying attitude of \u201cwe can rent or stream it later,\u201d the growing resistance in our culture to experience the unknown, host venues that don\u2019t readily serve booze, too much esoteric movie madness taking place in rapid succession, insufficient marketing, overall bad timing, all or none of the above? We haven\u2019t even mentioned the most obvious equalizer \u2013 ticket prices \u2013 yet admittance to these events was either free or cheaper than the average first-run prime time Hollywood<\/strong> film at the multiplex. Augh!<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a bit of advice for the people of Champaign, Urbana<\/strong>, and the cities beyond who might claim to love movies and support local movie-makers \u2013 you need to watch it or you\u2019ll botch it<\/em>. CUBlog<\/strong> realizes that most audience members will not have the time, patience, or stamina to take in every single second of every piece of cinema, but a lot of you could<\/em> make the concentrated effort to seek out a handful of titles per festival or screening that sound interesting or entertaining. Your presence and hopeful enjoyment of these experiences will go a long<\/em> way towards encouraging your neighbors to keep fighting the good fight and enriching our communities through film, for nothing forces movie shows to evaporate faster than the lack of peepers taking in their offerings.<\/p>\n

Speaking of, your next opportunities are right around the corner! We hope to see you there, especially since you now know we\u2019ll be looking for you. Read on, MacDuffs \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

ITEMS OF THE WEEK, Round 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other than embarking on a kamikaze road trip later today, Saturday, November 5<\/strong>, to attend the second and final day of the Drunken Zombie Film Festival<\/strong><\/a> in Peoria<\/strong>, we\u2019d like you to consider checking out the annual Embarras Valley Film Festival<\/strong> held at Eastern Illinois University<\/strong> in Charleston<\/strong>. This year\u2019s event, which takes place Thursday, November 10<\/strong>, through Saturday, November 12<\/strong><\/a>, \u201cwill focus on films by and about children and young adults with a connection to filmmakers and personnel from the Central Illinois area\u201d according to the Embarras Web site. Lectures will involve Rankin-Bass<\/strong> (the studio responsible for stop-motion television specials like RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER<\/strong>) and “Uncle Remus” (the ex-slave storyteller at the heart of Disney<\/strong>\u2019s out-of-circulation feature, SONG OF THE SOUTH<\/strong>), while screenings will include MARTIAN CHILD<\/strong> starring John Cusack<\/strong>, NORTH<\/strong> directed by Rob Reiner<\/strong>, and HACHI: A DOG\u2019S TALE<\/strong> featuring Richard Gere<\/strong> and EIU alumna Joan Allen<\/strong> \u2026 Illini Film & Video<\/strong> is sponsoring their annual 49 Hour Film Festival<\/strong> challenge<\/a> this weekend, and everyone can watch the resulting entries on Monday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.<\/strong>, in Room 223<\/strong> of Gregory Hall<\/strong> on the University of Illinois Main Quad<\/strong> \u2026 Via Facebook<\/a>, Joe Taylor<\/strong> of Sleepy Creek Vineyards<\/strong> revealed the award winners from last week\u2019s Freeky Creek Short Film Festival: DUCKED AND COVERED<\/strong> directed by Nathaniel Lindsay<\/strong> (Best Comedy), THE WINDOW INTO TIME<\/strong> directed by Thomas Nicol<\/strong> of Urbana (Best Cinematography), GREEN VIAL<\/strong> directed by Michael Gabriele<\/strong> (Best Acting), MONSTERS<\/strong> directed by Robert Morgan<\/strong> (Best Horror), BINGO<\/strong> by UI alumnus Chris Landreth (Best Animation), and SOMETHING LEFT, SOMETHING TAKEN<\/strong> directed by Max Porter<\/strong> and Ru Kuwahata<\/strong> a.k.a. Tiny Inventions<\/strong> (Best of the Fest) \u2026 Also via Facebook<\/a>, the Route 66 International Film Festival announced that long-time director Linda McElroy<\/strong> would step down, in anticipation of her move to Missouri<\/strong>, and be succeeded by current festival graphic designer and photographer Tom Szyprka<\/strong> \u2026 Finally, we\u2019ll reiterate that festival passes for the 2012 Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival<\/strong><\/a> went on sale this past Tuesday, November 1<\/strong>. They get snapped up quickly, don\u2019t cha know!<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

LINKS OF THE WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sidney<\/strong> micro-filmmaker Sasan Shabrou<\/strong> has posted the first two installments<\/a> of his new Web series GEN Y<\/strong><\/a> on the hosting site Unleash Video<\/strong><\/a>; starring Shabrou as an Internet blogger, the show also features Nicole Bowman Shabrou, Stephanie Swearingen, Ian Brandon<\/strong>, and Mattheus Knoop<\/strong> \u2026 An e-mail blast from Vimeo<\/strong> promotes the all-new Vimeo Music Store<\/strong><\/a>, \u201cyour one-stop-shop for finding, discovering, and licensing high quality music for your videos\u201d \u2026 Last week, avid C-U music fan Nathan Schwalm<\/strong> made his debut as a reviewer for the MICRO-FILM News Blog<\/strong> by writing up THE SWEET LIFE<\/strong><\/a>, a New York<\/strong> indie directed by Rocco Simonelli<\/strong> and featuring rocker Joan Jett<\/strong> in a supporting role; Marty McKee<\/strong> also chimed in on the Blu-ray re-release of William Lustig<\/strong>\u2019s action packed opus MANIAC COP<\/strong><\/a> starring Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell<\/strong>, and Robert Z\u2019Dar<\/strong>!<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

PLAYING THIS WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE TRANSIENT*<\/strong>: Saturday, 11\/5, 5:46 p.m., Drunken Zombie Film Festival, Peoria, IL<\/p>\n

@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: THE WAY<\/strong> (11\/4 on), GIORGIO MORODER\u2019S METROPOLIS<\/strong> (11\/4, 11\/5, 11\/10, 10 p.m.), The Kitchen<\/strong><\/span> by Arnold Wesker<\/strong> (11\/5, 11\/6, 12 p.m., theater), RA.ONE<\/strong> (11\/5, 3:30 p.m., Bollywood), THE WHITE MEADOWS<\/strong> (11\/8, 5:30 p.m., free), closed for private rental<\/em> (11\/10, 7:30 p.m.)<\/p>\n

@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL: THE GODFATHER<\/strong> (11\/5, 1 & 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n

@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, UIUC, Champaign, IL: WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?<\/strong> (11\/8, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n

@ Room 223, Gregory Hall, UIUC, Urbana, IL: 49 Hour film Festival sponsored by Illini Film & Video<\/strong> (11\/7, 7:30 p.m., free)<\/p>\n

@ Lecture Hall, Doudna Fine Arts Center, EIU, Charleston, IL: WHO TOOK THE BOMP? LE TIGRE ON TOUR<\/strong> (11\/9, 7 p.m.)<\/p>\n

@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: TOWER HEIST, PUSS IN BOOTS, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3<\/strong> (11\/4 on)<\/p>\n

@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: THE GUARD<\/strong> (11\/3-11\/6)<\/p>\n

@ Landmark Cinemas, Peoria, IL: Drunken Zombie Film Festival*<\/strong> (11\/4-11\/5)<\/p>\n

@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: PUSS IN BOOTS, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3<\/strong> (11\/4 on)<\/p>\n

@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL: PUSS IN BOOTS<\/strong> (11\/4-11\/6, 11\/9)<\/p>\n

@ The Princess Theatre, LeRoy, IL: THE IDES OF MARCH<\/strong> (11\/4-11\/6)<\/p>\n

@ That\u2019s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE, CARS 2, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, TABLOID, SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN, MAGIC TRIP, THE LAST MOUNTAIN<\/strong>, more! (11\/1 on)<\/p>\n

@ Centerbrook Drive-In, Martinsville, IN: REAL STEEL, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3<\/strong> (11\/4-11\/5)<\/p>\n

@ Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Chicago Filmmakers, etc., Chicago, IL: Reeling Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival<\/strong> (through 11\/12)<\/p>\n

@ Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: Closed for the season!<\/em><\/p>\n

@ Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield, IL: Closed for the season!<\/em><\/p>\n

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

Locally produced movies and events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). <\/em>Go see \u2018em!<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

COMING SOON<\/strong><\/p>\n

11\/10-11\/12: Embarras Valley Film Festival<\/strong>
\n @ EIU campus, Charleston, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n

11\/10-11\/20: St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO<\/p>\n

11\/11-11\/13: HorrorHound Weekend (Horror culture), Cincinnati, OH<\/p>\n

NEW!<\/strong> 11\/12: CUFS \u201cIntro to DSLR Filmmaking\u201d workshop<\/strong>
\n @ M2, Champaign, IL, 1 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

11\/12: \u201cJohn Waters: This Filthy World,\u201d Indianapolis, IN<\/p>\n

NEW!<\/strong> 11\/16: Champaign Movie Makers meeting<\/strong>
\n @ SoDo Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

11\/18-11\/20: Illinois International Film Festival*, Chicago, IL<\/p>\n

NEW!<\/strong> 11\/26: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PT. 1 & 2<\/strong>
\n @ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW!<\/strong> 11\/29, 12\/1: THE HELP<\/strong>
\n @ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW!<\/strong> 12\/3: NATIONAL LAMPOON\u2019S CHRISTMAS VACATION<\/strong>
\n @ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\/20, 2012: Issue release: C-U Confidential \u201899<\/strong>
\n + Paper Opteryx, Champaign, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n

4\/15, 2012: Buttered Corn on the Cob Film Festival<\/strong>
\n @ 88 Broadway, Urbana, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n

4\/18-4\/22, 2012: Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI<\/p>\n

4\/25-4\/29, 2012: Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival<\/strong>
\n @ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

COMMUNITY FILM SERIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New Classics: Great Books to Great Films from the Past 50 Years<\/strong>
\n @ Danville Public Library, Danville, IL, 6:30 p.m.<\/strong>
\n11\/14: ORDINARY PEOPLE; 12\/12: FAIL SAFE (1964); 1\/9\/12: NEVER CRY WOLF; 2\/13\/12: AWAKENINGS; 3\/12\/12: ADAPTATION; 4\/9\/12: UP IN THE AIR<\/p>\n

UPDATE! The News-Gazette Film Series 2011<\/strong>
\n @ The Virginia Theater, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.<\/strong>
\n11\/5: THE GODFATHER; 12\/3: NATIONAL LAMPOON\u2019S CHRISTMAS VACATION<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary\/Film Series<\/strong>
\n @ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.<\/strong>
\n11\/8: WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?; 12\/8: WINGS OF DEFEAT<\/p>\n

UPDATE! Global Lens 2011: International Films<\/strong>
\n @ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL<\/strong>
\n11\/8: WHITE MEADOWS, Iran<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s it for the \u201cbusiness of our scene\u201d this week!<\/p>\n

If you have relevant news, opportunities, dates, or promotions that you would like included in <\/em>CUBiz<\/strong>, please forward the who, what, where, when, and how much to <\/em>cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Compiled by Jason Pankoke<\/p>\n

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

We welcome your virtual presence in the Confidential scheme!<\/strong><\/p>\n

319 awesome (but way too few) peeps dig our Facebook <\/strong>page<\/a>, while 23 astounding (yet way way <\/em>way too few) comrades keep a watchful eye on our YouTube<\/strong> channel<\/a>, the C-U Confidential Revue<\/strong>! We\u2019d place our bets in a heartbeat that many more<\/em> would enjoy our social\/video outreach if they knew about us! Have you <\/em>joined us on-line? Will you be ambassadors for our indie film cause and send your recruits in our direction? The more attention we receive, the better we can serve the interests of local artists and the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond!<\/p>\n

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

Prior \u201cCUBiz\u201d<\/a> | Next \u201cCUBiz\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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

\u201cC-U Biz-en-sc\u00e8ne\u201d no.67 \u00a9 2011 Jason Pankoke\/C-U Blogfidential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this edition of C-U Blogfidential\u2019s all-purpose column, \u201cC-U Biz-en-sc\u00e8ne,\u201d we warn against taking local film festivals for granted, preview the Embarras Valley Film Festival, give up the Freeky Creek Short Film Festival winners, and hug the movies now playing\/renting near you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,406,217,802,13,18],"tags":[98,89,420,828,255],"class_list":["post-4120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-area-festivals","category-c-u-biz-en-scene","category-column-du-c-u","category-micro-film-news-blog","category-public-events","category-student-film","tag-49-hour-film-competition","tag-embarras-valley-film-festival","tag-freeky-creek-short-film-festival","tag-gen-y","tag-route-66-international-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120","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=4120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}