Options bloom for UI film students
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We’re following up our University of Illinois “students in film” article from a few weeks ago to update you on one item we already discussed and alert you to another opportunity that is now open statewide!
First is an information session and general workshop that will take place later today, Thursday, November 14, 4 p.m., in Room 1 of Lincoln Hall on the UI Main Quad. It is intended for students who might be interested in submitting work to the next Illinifest, which has been rechristened this year as the Golden Corn Student Film Festival, but need initial guidance in how to get started or join up with experienced classmates. (This is mildly confusing if you pay close attention to the rapid ebb and flow of UI film doings; Illini Film & Video and Photon Pictures sponsored a “Golden Corn Movie Festival” in 2018.) The host for the event is UI Media and Cinema Studies adjunct professor Jonathan Knipp, who currently teaches the MACS 464 film festival course for which Golden Corn serves as a final project in the spring. A flier distributed among faculty and staff – we thank Confidential agent EB for floating it our way – encourages non-MACS majors to attend this afternoon if they can; we’re certain an after-the-fact inquiry to Knipp via knipp [at] illinois [dot] edu would also be acceptable if you do not learn about the event in time. As with last year and unlike previous incarnations of this program, the call for entries will probably be open to the UI community only.
Elsewhere, the Illinois Film Office in conjunction with the Chicago International Film Festival, Full Spectrum Features, and the Illinois Department of Commerce has opened a brief window for students between 18 and 22 years old to submit work to their annual Shortcuts contest. Full instructions can be reviewed at FilmFreeway while the general deadline to enter is Tuesday, December 31, and extended deadline is Friday, January 31. The winning filmmaker(s) receive a cash prize and theatrical screening at the CineYouth Film Festival of Chicago in the spring of 2020. Good luck to all of you on both fronts!
The fliers for each can be clicked to enlarge for easy readability.
~ Jason Pankoke
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