WILL-TV to run topical indie docs
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WILL Channel 12 and Illinois Public Media will briefly resume their self-branded documentary show REEL MIDWEST later tonight, Thursday, January 30, at 7 p.m. with a presentation of STATEVILLE CALLING. Director Ben Kolak and producer Yana Kunichoff of Scrappers Film Group spoke to with The 21st on WILL-AM 580 earlier today about the project, which looks at incarceration in Illinois and how octogenarian activist Bill Ryan is urging reform of an overtaxed criminal justice system and a progressive stance on senior-age prisoners who would do no harm in society if granted clemency or parole. Individuals profiled in the story live in facilities such as the all-men Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet and the all-women Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. This is considered the second episode from the second season of REEL MIDWEST, which began in earnest back in November with a one-off airing of ALL THE QUEEN’S HORSES, and no future episodes are listed on the WILL programming schedule. However, more independently-produced content will appear as part of other syndicated showcases during the next few days. WILL is set to broadcast the next episode of the long-running INDEPENDENT LENS on Monday, February 3, 9 p.m., in which LEFTOVER WOMEN follows the lives of three successful young women in China who are stigmatized for not being married; it is directed by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia. The Urbana-based PBS affiliate will also play the most recent episode of the South Florida PBS show FILM-MAKER on Sunday, February 2, 11:30 p.m., in which segment director Christopher Ahrendt depicts in AGAINST THE GRAIN how a retrospective movie house in Coral Gables, Florida, keeps the art and technique of film projection alive; the staff is gearing up to present a freshly-struck 70mm print of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for its community at the time of taping. Always watch those listings, dearest viewers!
~ Jason Pankoke
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