Calendar: November 3-9, 2023
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
10/29: Julie Staley (producer/director, FIELDS OF GOLD, Spencer Films, Springfield, IL)
11/3: Wes Melton (actor, THEY CAME BACK FROM SOMEWHERE, Acrostar Media, Chicago, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Since we’ve blown a verbal gasket in the last week that may have opened a floodgate in Ye Ed we’ll be scrambling to corral while the pressure is on, today’s Report will be tightly focused on one item. We’d like to recommend that everyone consider watching one or more blocks during the 22nd Route 66 Film Festival, which launches in the virtual streaming realm as of today, Friday, November 3, and lasts until Tuesday, November 13. The selections for 2023 are being hosted by FilmFestivalFlix, a partnership that has helped keep the Route 66 show on the road through the pandemic, and consists of four blocks of film shorts and six features: ALI VS. ALI (Iran, 2022), DON’T SHOOT THE PIANO MAN (USA, 2022), HELA (Poland, 2022), THE LAST TANGO WITH PARI (Iran, 2023), and a pair of Illinois-made films, the 2023 documentary TAKE YOUR OWN NOTES, regarding the lives of women veterans in the Rockford area, and the 2022 drama GOOD GUY WITH A GUN, a teen angst drama filmed in Chicagoland. You will want to eyeball the availability dates on the page where you can buy tickets as they are staggered.
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While the overall selection is modest compared to past Route 66 affairs and similar events held across the country, there has always been an eye towards finding quality pieces that are uplifting and thought-provoking since the Springfield-based festival was launched in the early 2000s. Credit the current team – festival director Lana Wildman, awards director Christine Samoore, marketing director Laura Richter, advertising director Crissie Trigger, their volunteers, judges, and sponsors – for seeing it past the rough patches akin to what many a locally-based cultural organization in the United States has gone through lately. Hopefully, they can return to promoting a complete in-person theatrical experience in the near future, but at least they host a live awards ceremony at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in the capital city’s downtown so people can meet and mingle; this year’s shindig is scheduled for Sunday, November 11, and possibly will be livestreamed for those who can’t attend as in the past. It’s nice to know that some downstate communities have the backs of their local folks who are serious about the film arts.
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ virtual via Springfield, IL
22nd Route 66 Film Festival (11/3-11/13) Information Tickets
@ The Lincoln Square Theatre, Decatur, IL
FIELDS OF GOLD* exclusive run (documentary) (11/3, 7 p.m.; 11/4, 2 p.m.)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
DIVINITY, KEEDA COLA (in Telugu with English sub), WHAT HAPPENS LATER, AFTER DEATH (religious docudrama), THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, FREELANCE, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, SAW X, THE TUNNEL TO SUMMER, THE EXIT TO GOODBYES (animé) (in Japanese with English sub or English dub) (11/3 on), TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (concert film) (11/3-11/5, 11/9), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (11/6, 7 pm.), “K-LOVE Live at Red Rocks” (filmed Christian music concert) (11/6-11/7, 7 p.m.), AX Cinema Nights: GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995) (animé) (11/8-11/9, 7:30 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), THE MARVELS, JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM (faith film) (11/9 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
ANATOMY OF A FALL, THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER, PRISCILLA, WHAT HAPPENS LATER, AFTER DEATH (religious docudrama), DICKS: THE MUSICAL*, THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER, FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, FREELANCE, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 30th anniversary (re-release) (animation), OPPENHEIMER (IMAX 2-D)*, PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (animation), SAW X (11/3 on), TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (concert film) (11/3-11/5), Titanic the Musical (filmed stage performance) (11/4, 3 p.m.; 11/8, 7 p.m.), THE LAST WALTZ 45th anniversary (concert film) (11/5, 4 & 7 p.m.), A CHRISTMAS STORY (11/5, 3 & 7 p.m.; 11/8, 7 p.m.), “K-LOVE Live at Red Rocks” (filmed Christian music concert) (11/6-11/7, 7 p.m.), DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02: THE BEGINNING (animé) (11/8, 7 p.m., English dub; 11/9, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), THE MARVELS, JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM (faith film) (11/9 on) *single screenings daily
@ Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2023 Weekend Films” feat. GRAN TURISMO, Pine Lounge, 1st floor (11/3-11/4, 7 p.m.; free w/i-card)
@ Redbox, Champaign-Urbana, IL
BARBIE, THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, SOUND OF FREEDOM (streaming), STRAYS, more! (10/31 on) Online rentals
@ Spurlock Museum for World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Center for Latin America and Caribbean Studies presents ANIL (documentary) w/Dr. Paula Cuellar discussion (11/3, 12 p.m., free), Asian American Cultural Center presents AsiaLENS feat. TRY HARDER! (documentary) w/filmmaker Debbie Lum (11/3, 6 p.m., free, parental guidance suggested)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
No movies this week!
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
AFTER DEATH (religious docudrama), FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (11/3-11/5)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (11/3, 7:30 p.m.)
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
HOCUS POCUS 30th anniversary, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 30th anniversary (animation) (Screen 1), TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (concert film) (Screen 2) (11/2-11/5)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
Private parties and “Family Movie Packs”
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
AIRNESS (11/3-11/5), BLUE VELVET (11/8), JOAN BAEZ: I AM A NOISE (music documentary) (11/9)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed for business until November.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
GRAN TURISMO (11/3-11/5)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S (11/2, 11/5), FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S, THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER (11/3-11/4) (Screen 1), TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR (concert film) (11/3-11/6) (Screen 2)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ Hi-Pointe Theatre, etc., St. Louis, MO
32nd Whitaker St Louis International Film Festival (11/9-11/19)
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
11/10
AFTERLIFE* documentary world premiere
@ The Avon Theatre, Decatur, IL, 7 p.m.
12/2
Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival*
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
3/2/24
CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
4/17-4/20/24
24th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/16: PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES*, 12/21: DIE HARD
Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Experience Film Series”
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
12/1: SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2023 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
11/10-11/11: STRAYS: 11/17-11/18: BLUE BEETLE; 12/1-12/2: THE EQUALIZER 3
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
11/25: NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION; 12/2: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
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