Art hosts NAFF 2012 today!
Come join us to collectively revel in the movie achievements of our friends and neighbors today, Friday, April 20, at the Art Theater, 126 W. Church St., Champaign, IL, during the third annual New Art Film Festival! Admission is free for this eight-hour extravaganza which begins at 4:30 p.m. and plays on through the stroke of 12 Midnight, brought to you by C-U Confidential with an assist from our first-ever sponsor, the Champaign-Urbana Film Society. The NAFF is also a featured event of this weekend’s 10th annual Boneyard Arts Festival, presented by the 40 North 88 West arts council of Champaign County, which generously included us in all their events guides. We thank Art manager Sanford Hess for hosting the NAFF once again, Luke Boyce of Shatterglass Studios for piecing together our media assets for ultra-smooth projection, Lisa Cerezo of the Psychic Joker for contributing to promotional efforts, Zak Boerger of the University of Illinois for preparing our exclusive presentation about the Joseph Tykociner archives, and the student design group Midnight Oil for providing their second consecutive kick-ass poster design! We hope to see each and every one of you, dearest readers, at the Art tonight!
~ Jason Pankoke
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New Art Film Festival – Complete Schedule
@ The Art Theater, Champaign, IL
April 20, 2012, 4:30 p.m.-12 a.m.
FREE ADMISSION
4:30 p.m. – “J.T. Tykociner’s Sound on Film: A Preservation History”
Presented by Zak Boerger, UIUC Library Media Preservation
5:00 p.m. – “Comedies & Tragedies”
WHO KILLED PAC-MAN? (noir parody)
2010, 10 min., Directed by Michael Bach, Champaign-Urbana, IL
WHO KILLED PAC-MAN? is a film-noir detective story set in a videogame world.
UP THE CREEK, Episode 1 (“sipcom”)
2011, 8 min., Directed by Joe Taylor, Fairmount, IL
UP THE CREEK is a comedy Web series about a winery and its dysfunctional staff. In this episode, “Wiener Fire,” the owner’s big-city son Grant returns home to take over operations.
NINJA THE MISSION FORCE, Episode 3 (action comedy)
2012, 12 min., Directed by Ed Glaser, Champaign, IL
NINJA THE MISSION FORCE is a Telly Award-winning comedy Web series that adds ninjas to absurdly redubbed classic films. In this episode, “Citizen Ninja,” ninja master Gordon reveals to his wife how he became a ninja, back when he was played by Orson Welles.
UP THE CREEK, Episode 2 (“sipcom”)
2011, 6 min., Directed by Joe Taylor, Fairmount, IL
In this episode, “What Goes Up,” the gang attempts to impress a persnickety wine critic.
ADOPTED (comedy)
2012, 2 min., Directed by Sasan Shabrou, Champaign, IL
ADOPTED is a short film that deals with the awkward situation of telling a loved one they were adopted.
BELLIFAX: THE NOT-SO-STANDARD OIL COMPANY (industrial film parody)
2011, 4 min., Directed by William Addison, Charleston, IL
Set in the corporate underworld of shady business practices, this mockumentary examines Bellifax Oil Company and their research into a dubious form of alternative fuel for vehicles.
778 BULLETS (documentary)
2011, 18 min., Directed by Angela Aguayo, Charleston, IL
In November 1970, university, state, and local police shot 778 bullets into an off-campus rental house in Carbondale, IL. The residence was rented to a handful of university students, some were assumed to be associated with the local Black Panther Party. This story documents a more rural presence of radical politics and the struggle for civil rights.
HAD HE FIDELITY rough cut (period drama)
2012, 22 min., Directed by A. Lawrence Dreyfuss, Homewood, IL
Based on Emily Dickinson’s poem, this film is set in rural central Illinois in 1934. A grief-stricken man shows up at a farmer’s house after his car breaks down. The two quickly become at odds with each other, creating a tense and distrustful situation.
A WAR FOR II (wartime/period drama)
2009, 17 min., Directed by Braden Boe, Charleston, IL
In 1944 France, a U.S. GI finds he is alone after the confusion of battle and his only hope of survival is his German prisoner.
7:00 p.m. – “Cultural Camaraderie”
AU REVOIR, MON AMOUR (comedy short)
2011, 9 min., Directed by William Addison, Charleston, IL
In the late Fifties, a young man is abducted from Paris, France, by aliens and subjected to a series of quirky experiments.
MIDNIGHT LOVE (music video)
2011, 5 min., Directed by Tim Ro, Champaign-Urbana, IL
Music by Mokhov
“Midnight Love” the song is a single from the album Halcyon Days by the Russian-born and San Francisco-based artist, Mokhov. MIDNIGHT LOVE the music video is a modern Cinderella story.
LIFE INSIDE AN ELEPHANT (music video)
2011, 5 min., Directed by Chris Eitel, Urbana, IL
Music by Elsinore
Featuring the same-named title track from Elsinore’s most recent EP, LIFE INSIDE AN ELEPHANT expresses a case of Stockholm Syndrome using stop-motion animation.
WALLS OF SOUND: A LOOK INSIDE THE HOUSE OF RECORDS (feature documentary)
2012, 75 min., Directed by David Gracon, Champaign, IL
This documentary video is a case study of the House of Records, a brick-and-mortar independent record store in Eugene, Oregon. It currently struggles to exist in the midst of digital downloading and the corporate consolidation of culture.
9:00 p.m. – “Human Fragility”
DEATH OF A MAILMAN (experimental drama)
2011, 9 min., Directed by Tyson Kroening, Mattoon, IL & Dillon Curtner, Fairfield, IL
A mailman dies unexpectedly and his wife struggles to deal with the loss.
HAKGYO (drama)
2012, 11 min., Directed by Tim Ro, Champaign-Urbana, IL
Sex, lies, and an economics exam is the backdrop for this tale when students decide to cheat by literally taking the test into their own hands.
FINDING VIRGINIA (feature drama)
2012, 71 min., Directed by Thomas C. Card, New York, NY
FINDING VIRGINIA examines the balance of sight, perception, and truth as a community grapples to discover what led to the disappearance of a sweet, loving member. New light is shed upon the year-old investigation when an already imprisoned young man gloats to his cellmate of his first-hand involvement.
11:00 p.m. – “Science Fiction in Mind”
HEARTSHOT trailer (drama)
2012, 1 min., Directed by Thomas Nicol, Urbana, IL & Joe Taylor, Fairmount, IL
HEARTSHOT is a sci-fi noir about a scientist who supports his drug habit by poaching genetically engineered unicorns.
UPGRADE (comedy)
2011, 6 min., Directed by Andrew Stengele, Champaign, IL
Dave the comedian is having a rough night behind the microphone. Spoiler Alert: It’s gonna get worse!
A LOGICAL CONCLUSION (period comedy)
2011, 3 min., Directed by Dustin Tylman, Charleston, IL
This experimental short film showcases Professor Franklin’s greatest discovery.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1973 (comedy)
2011, 5 min., Directed by Chris Lukeman, Champaign, IL
Scientist heroes Spring Heeled Jack and Sam engage in a battle of wits with the mysterious and slightly crazy Bud.
FALLING UP (drama)
2011, 39 min., Directed by Ryan Marzolph, Champaign-Urbana, IL
A young man struggles with a technology his family created, which can record a person’s thoughts, and its implications on identity, memory, and what it means to be human.
As always, titles and sequence are subject to change without notice.
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[Updated 4/21/12, 5:30 p.m. CST]