C-U Biz-en-scène: 09.17.2010
“C-U Biz-en-scène” appears every Wednesday/Thursday on C-U Blogfidential to give our readers a succinct snapshot of the cinema activity in and near Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA. Please support the artists and their work, attend screenings and events, and otherwise become active in our esoteric little world!
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MFHQ & YOU:
Is the Death of MICRO-FILM Highly Exaggerated?
Tuesday night, our friend and contributor Jeff McCoy asked your humble editor the million-dollar question, “So, when do you think you’ll publish the next MICRO-FILM?” As we spend what seems to be an ever-increasing amount of time covering the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond, our predecessor waits patiently in the back of our minds to be called upon once again to present the bigger picture of micro-cinema to discerning cinema lovers everywhere. We’ve had a loose plan for a while to bring the Magazine of Personal Cinema in Action back – so loose, however, that both MICRO-FILM 8 (which should have emerged in 2006) and the retro one-shot MICRO-FILM 2000 (which we originally intended to publish next month) remain mired in that misty no man’s land between the drawing board and the printing press. Beyond the lack-of-money issues we discussed last week, it becomes a matter of practicality, want, and need as we move into the second decade of the 21st century, and not solely for a fresh physical manifestation of our flagship title. Please keep your peepers open for a vital post asking for your input on practically everything we do at the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters. It may be the most important thing you will ever read – and respond to – here on CUBlog.
PRODUCTION
Earlier on Tuesday night, your humble editor had the privilege to sit in with more than 100 other folks on a private preview screening of AMBER ROSE, the second feature from Champaign independent filmmaker Mike Trippiedi. Adapted from an original play written by the director, AMBER ROSE concerns the uneasy conflicts which arise when the lives of single working-class mother Lynn (played by Carolyn Kodes-Atkinson) and her preteen daughter Amber Rose (Zoë Capps, in her film debut) cross paths with area newcomers – adult siblings Skip (Steven M. Keen) and Judy (Amy Stoch), who move in next door, and their friend Gil (Chicago actor Joe Dempsey), who appears several times looking for the new neighbors. As Gil charms his way into Lynn’s good graces, Amber Rose befriends Skip – much to Judy’s chagrin – whose physical and mental being have been compromised by a recent accident. For good and ill, less recent sins of both Gil and Skip’s pasts come to the fore by the conclusion, threatening to converge on precocious Amber Rose in hideous ways. LEADING LADIES co-writer Jennifer Bechtel appears briefly as do Michael Morgan and Lindsey Markel, while Traci Nally and Mark Roberts produced the film and Larry E. Gates II contributed his first-ever movie score. The modestly sized crew, including long-time Trippiedi collaborator Bill Yauch as cinematographer and editor, shot AMBER ROSE during a three-week schedule back in May; the version screened Tuesday represents a close-to-final cut that has already been sent to a smattering of film festivals. CUBlog will certainly report further on AMBER ROSE in the coming months; part of our coverage will include an extremely overdue one-on-one interview with Trippiedi, whose prior work includes the full-length ensemble farce DOGS IN QUICKSAND and oddball short comedies such as MURDER TOO MANY and BUCKY McSNEED. Until then, visit the official Web site for more information on this Shut Up & Do It Productions film.
EVENTS
Two significant, full-bodied showcases bring cinema culture to downstate Illinois this weekend. First is the ninth annual Route 66 International Film Festival which will present independent works of all shapes and sizes from Friday, September 17, to Sunday, September 19, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St., Springfield, IL. Ticket information is available on their Web site along with a PDF describing more than 60 titles to be shown throughout. Closer to home, the Latin American Film Festival finally returns to the Art Theater, 126 W. Church St., Champaign, IL, with a rotating schedule of five contemporary features: WHO KILLED THE WHITE LLAMA? (Bolivia), HORN OF PLENTY (Cuba), THE GOOD LIFE (Chile), O PAI, O (Brazil), and THE POPE’S TOILET (Uruguay); primary sponsor is the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
SUBMISSIONS
It’s suddenly really freakin’ close to the submission deadline for the first Freeky Creek Short Film Festival, which is next Monday, September 20! Partners in crime Joe Taylor and Bill Kephart will present the scariest, wackiest, and all-out best horror film shorts they can find at Taylor’s Sleepy Creek Vineyards in Fairmount, IL (near Danville, nearer Oakwood) on Friday, October 29, and Saturday, October 30, with a best-of-fest encore on Sunday, October 31. What would be better than having your movie shown to an audience on Halloween weekend? Having your movie shown to an audience at a vineyard on Halloween weekend in the Gothic rural Midwest, yah!
MEETINGS
Keep in mind that on Tuesday, September 21, 7 p.m., Champaign Movie Makers will meet at Class Act Interactive, 114 S. Neil St., Champaign, to afford area filmmakers and talent an opportunity to discuss and join forces in the making of independent cinema in the area. This month’s presentation by Mike Trippiedi and friends will cover the production of their feature-length drama, AMBER ROSE; additional topics TBD. Feel free to contact Johnny Robinson at johnny [at] johnnyrobinson [dot] com for further information!
We’ll also note that the Central Illinois Film Commission of Springfield does not meet this month according to president Cameron Counts, while Ashlea Thomsen has announced that weekly Illini Film & Video meetings will now begin at 6 p.m. instead of 6:30 p.m., although they will still take place every Tuesday in Room 104 of the English Building on the UIUC Main Quad. Current opportunities announced through IFV include student short films as well as video production jobs for the UI Student Senate, Big Ten Network, and the Illini Union.
MEDIA LINKS
Since we have a doozy to discuss next week – some of you may have already seen it referenced on our Facebook Page – we’ll direct you to a couple of pieces that serve as additional cases in point for our recent commentary about Bloomington-Normal theaters. The Pantagraph ran an article on September 15 about Bloomington denying a liquor license to one of the newer multiplexes in that area, the Galaxy 14 Cine, justified by their City Council on the grounds that it doesn’t want to deal with situations where minors might get their hands on booze in a darkened theater. Appearing the same day, a Herald & Review editorial contemplates whether the combining of arts group forces in Decatur might serve an overall interest in helping the Lincoln Square Theatre stay open; this former vaudeville and movie house relies on a mix of acts to attract audiences to downtown Decatur, a la the Virginia Theater in Champaign, although it apparently is not enough.
PLAYING THIS WEEK
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL: Latin American Film Festival (9/17-9/22)
@ The Canopy Club, Urbana, IL: Pizza + Pitcher and Movie – returns 9/26
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL: THE TOWN, FLIPPED, GET LOW, WINTER’S BONE (9/17 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL: I AM LOVE (9/16-9/17), VINCERE (9/18-9/19), EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (9/21-9/22)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL: re-opens 9/24
@ Harvest Moon Drive-In, Gibson City, IL: NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS, SALT (9/17-9/19)
@ Route 66 Drive-In, Springfield, IL: CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE, INCEPTION, THE LAST EXORCISM, THE EXPENDABLES (9/17-9/18)
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL: Route 66 International Film Festival (9/17-9/19)
@ That’s Rentertainment, Champaign, IL: PRINCE OF PERSIA, LETTERS TO JULIET, JUST WRIGHT, BOOGIE WOOGIE, PRINCESS KA’IULANI, more! (9/14 on)
COMING SOON
9/24-9/26: Chicago Horror Film Festival, Chicago, IL
9/24-9/26: 2010 B Movie Celebration, Franklin, IN
9/25-9/26: LEADING LADIES
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL, 5 & 7:30 p.m. Sat, 2:30, 5 & 7:30 p.m. Sun
9/25-9/26: REVOLTING
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL, 3 & 10 p.m. Sat, 12 p.m. Sun
NEW! 9/27: MISS NAVAJO
@ KAM Auditorium, Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
9/30-11/18: “Americana at the Movies, pt.4” film class
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, 6:30 p.m. (8 wks, Thurs only)
10/7-10/21: Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
NEW! 10/12: THE LORD IS NOT ON TRIAL HERE TODAY local broadcast
@ WILL-TV 12, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
10/14-10/23: Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
NEW! 10/15: THE LORD IS NOT ON TRIAL HERE TODAY local broadcast
@ WILL-TV 12, Urbana, IL, 7:30 p.m.
10/22-10/23: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL, Midnight
10/23: REVOLTING
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL, 8 p.m.
10/29-10/31: Freeky Creek Short Film Festival
@ Sleepy Creek Vineyards, Fairmount, IL
11/5-11/7: Illinois International Film Festival, Chicago, IL
11/11-11/13: Embarras Valley Film Festival
@ EIU campus/Will Rogers Theater/Charleston Public Library, Charleston, IL
11/11-11/21: St. Louis International Film Festival, St. Louis, MO
11/19-11/21: Dark Carnival Film Festival, Bloomington, IN
2/18-2/27, 2011: Big Muddy Film Festival
@ Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
3/22-3/27, 2011: Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, MI
3/30-4/1, 2011: Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/27-5/1, 2011: Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
UNIVERSITY FILM SERIES
AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary/Film Series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
10/5: 1428; 11/2: UNMISTAKEN CHILD; 12/7: BURMA VJ
Global Lens 2010: International Films
@ Main Lounge, Allen Hall/Unit One, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
9/22: GODS, Peru; 10/13: LEO’S ROOM, Uruguay; 10/27: MASQUERADES, Algeria; 11/3: MY TEHRAN FOR SALE, Iran; 11/10: OCEAN OF AN OLD MAN, India; 11/17: ORDINARY PEOPLE, Serbia; 12/1: THE SHAFT, China; 12/8: SHIRLEY ADAMS, South Africa
NEW! Global Lens 2010: International Films
@ Latzer Hall, University YMCA, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 5:30 p.m.
9/30: ADRIFT, Vietnam; 10/7: BECLOUD, Mexico; 10/14: GODS, Peru; 10/21: LEO’S ROOM, Uruguay; 10/28: MASQUERADES, Algeria; 11/4: MY TEHRAN FOR SALE, Iran; 11/11: OCEAN OF AN OLD MAN, India; 11/18: ORDINARY PEOPLE, Serbia; 12/2: THE SHAFT, China; 12/9: SHIRLEY ADAMS, South Africa
IPRH Film Series
@ Room 62, Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, 5:30 p.m.
10/7: FAST, CHEAP, AND OUT OF CONTROL; 10/28: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968); 11/11: THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING; More TBA
Israeli Movie Club
@ The Cohen Center, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, 7:30 p.m.
9/20: TIME OF FAVOR; 9/27: OUT OF SIGHT; 10/4: TURN LEFT AT THE END OF THE WORLD; 10/11: VOSSI & JAGGER; 10/18: VITZHAK RABIN; 10/25: LEMON TREE; 11/1: THE SECRETS; 11/8: HALFON HILL DOESN’T ANSWER; 11/29: OR (MY TREASURE)
OUTRO
He never gets enough credit so it’s up to you, dearest readers, to wish our faithful Webmaster Eric Pankoke a happy thirty-COUGH-WHEEZE-ACK birthday which is this Sunday, September 19!
That’s it for the “business of our scene” this week!
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If you have relevant news, opportunities, dates, or promotions that you would like included in CUBiz, please forward the who, what, where, when, and how much to cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com.
Compiled by Jason Pankoke
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“C-U Biz-en-scène” no. 8 © 2010 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential.