C-U Blogfidential

The specters of Illinois urban legends form the basis of a pair of brand-new indie features, LANTERN’S LANE from Vertical Entertainment and BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION from Dark Sky Films.

This has been a very long year. Whether it’s been better or worse than the year before is debatable. Let’s put the soapboxes aside and remember those who are no longer here for 2022.

Gemelli Films of Brookhaven, NY, has taken a liking to downstate Illinois. The first result of this team-up, BAKING UP LOVE, arrived in stores nationwide in November through SP Releasing, Inc.

The creators of UNLISTED OWNER strike again! This time, they stake out real estate in blockchain territory with their original made-for-NFT short film, TRICK NOT TREAT. Purchase the key today!

Trick or treat! Five indie horror flicks originating in or adjacent to the meat-and-potatoes midsection of Illinois make the cut in our new marathon report. Come along for the haywire hayride, hardy souls!

As an aside to a tangent, we vicariously saunter about Mother Murphy’s of Normal, IL, thanks to another student project born at Illinois State University, ANYTHING BUT NORMAL. Take a trip with us!

In the first part of our limited series on independently-produced dramatic television in central Illinois, we peek at the progress being made by PEORIA creator Michael Mcgruder and his personnel.

Ye Ed is rooting for the film culture of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to rebound from the turbulence of recent years. Not everything will survive, such as the theaters he recently photographed.

What is reasonable give-and-take when a city is attempting to improve its central hub? The student project MAKING A MURAL illustrates the issue with an artistic conundrum in Normal, Illinois.

Singing words of wisdom, the numerous folks behind a new audio/video rendition of “Let it Be” want their Champaign-Urbana neighbors to feel better about our future and invest in the care of others.

Nationwide consensus is that small businesses and organizations will get raked over the coals before the pandemic is over. We look at how a first-run, mixed-use, and former movie theater are doing.

University of Illinois students a generation apart do their on-camera best to convince viewers that campus spirits drift among us. Their existence somewhat haunts your humble editor to this day.

The unused Lincoln Square Theatre in downtown Decatur, Illinois, is showing signs of disrepair on its exterior. Residents and officials may be at a tipping point in deciding the fate of the venue.

The scenes from a film culture that we have been watching mostly from afar fill us with mild disenchantment instead of wonder. And then we were ordered to self-shelter and keep personal spaces to ourselves. Joy.

There’s really not much more to say on behalf of the New Art Film Festival. We need a short break from it publicly, starting now, even though we won’t get a break from it privately until further notice.