(Urbana, Illinois) December 31, 2009: The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC) is proud to announce that it will host the second annual IMC Film Festival during February 5, 6, and 7, 2010, and is now accepting submissions! This celebration of the art of cinematography will once again highlight local and regional independent artists, giving them an opportunity to share their work and connect with other artists, community members, and organizations. Download the Call for Entries submittal form here (pdf).
Last year’s inaugural IMC Film Festival attracted approximately 300 supporters of creative media who enjoyed three days’ worth of screenings, presentations, workshops, dance parties, and after-hours camaraderie at the IMC building, located at 202 S. Broadway Ave. in downtown Urbana, Illinois. Beyond offering attendees the rare opportunity to screen truly independent work with an audience, the Film Festival also helped draw attention to the IMC’s on-site Production Group, which provides knowledge and equipment for budding media-makers in the Urbana-Champaign community who strive to make a difference with their work.
All genres of film are welcome, including: documentary, experimental, narrative, comedy, etc. Film highlights from last year’s event include:
Prelude (2007), directed by Luke Boyce, an anguished writer meets a mysterious stranger in a cafe and is drawn into a soul-bearing conversation, but her interest may be deeper than he thinks.
Citizen Watch (2004), directed by Patrick Thompson and Martel Miller, a controversial video recording interactions between local police and the black community in Urbana-Champaign;
Proceed and Be Bold! (2008), directed by Laura Zinger, the colorful story of printmaker Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., who uses his art to bring complicated issues such as race and gender into the forefront of the American consciousness;
Diversity and Technology for Engaging Communities (DTEC) Video (2008), produced by UIUC Educational Policy Studies professor Antonia Darder and her students, a video that exposes the secret history of racism on the University of Illinois campus;
And the Beat Goes On: The Spirit in the Legacy of the Douglass Center Drum Corps (2006), produced by Urbana (IL) High School students and supervised by Kimberlie Kranich and Will Patterson of WILL’s Youth Media Workshop, looks at recent efforts by former drum corps leader Jesse Ratliffe and 17-year-old Lee Duncan to revive the group, which in 1968 won First Place in the national Elks Club competition in New York City.
The Transient, directed by Chris Lukeman, is an ’80s throwback action movie about a homeless vigilante. The hero and his social worker sidekick, Steve, must stop Vampire Abraham Lincoln and his gang of punks…the 25 minute short was filmed in Champaign Urbana and the IMC Film Fest 2009 was the official CU premiere!
Filmmakers are invited to submit their works by filling out the Submittal Sheet and following those instructions. As well, the IMC Film Festival is open to all – free of admission charges! SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010, 5 p.m. Please make sure that all required information is included with your entry.
Area businesses, regional filmmakers, and media production companies are also invited to sponsor this year’s event! It is a great way to introduce your business or non-profit venture to a wider audience both during the IMC Film Festival and in key promotion that will appeal to the artist and art-supporting communities. If interested, please contact Nicole at nicole.pion@gmail.com for more information; please write “IMC Film Festival 2010 – Sponsorship” in the Subject header!
Last year’s sponsors included:
CU Blogfidential and Micro-Film Magazine
Shatterglass Studios
Mirabelle Bakery
Common Ground Food Co-op
That’s Rentertainment
One World Pizza
Strawberry Fields
La Gourmandise
CONTACT:
Nicole Pion nicole.pion@gmail.com
Outreach and Development Coordinator, UCIMC
Katy Vizdal katyvizdal@gmail.com
Performance Venue Coordinator, UCIMC
or, at IMCFFprogramming@gmail.com
202 S. Broadway Ave.
Suite 100
Urbana, Il 61801
217-344-8820