Dafna Lemish
CARBONDALE - Three filmmakers who are widely known for their experimental work and independent films will be part of the 34th annual Big Muddy Film Festival at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from Feb. 22-26th.
The festival brings the best of independent filmmaking to the region and will run from Feb. 22-26, at various venues on campus and in Carbondale. A special festival opening event will start the evening of Feb. 21 at 6 pm.
Started in 1979, the film festival remains one of the oldest film festivals affiliated with a university in the nation. The festival features juried films in four categories: animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative. The festival receives some of its funds from the Illinois Arts Council.
Chris Chomyn, Tomonari Nishikawa and Steve Reinke will judge films that compete for recognition and possible prizes. The filmmakers "push the edge" when it comes to their work, said Michele Torre, festival adviser and an assistant professor in the Department of Cinema and Photography. There are plans for each of the judges to hold workshops or critiques along with screening and discussing their films.
Reinke, an associate professor in Northwestern University's Department of Art Theory & Practice, is an artist and writer best known for his work in video, according to his biography. His work has screened at many film festivals, including in Sundance, Rotterdam, Oberhausen and the New York Video Festival. He earned the Bell Canada Video Award in 2006. Coach House Books published Reinke's book, "The Shimmering Beast," in 2011, and "Everybody Loves Nothing" in 2004.
Festival organizers are excited Reinke agreed to be a jurist, Torre said.
"There are so many excellent filmmakers who live in Illinois that it makes it hard to choose every year," she said. "We are really lucky he could come."
Nishikawa is a visiting faculty member in the cinema department at State University of New York at Binghamton, where he earned his bachelor's degree in cinema and philosophy. His work has appeared at film festivals including the New York Film Festival, Media City Experimental Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival. Nishikawa also makes film installations and curates screening programs. He earned an Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship from the Nippon Foundation in 2008-2009, and spent one year in Malaysia and Thailand to research experimental and personal cinema in the region.
Nishikawa "is an exciting, up-and-coming filmmaker," Torre said. "He's relatively young but he has done some really great work."
tChomyn is an award-winning cinematographer and is a senior lecturer at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, where he teaches cinematography and visual communication. Chomyn's earned the best cinematography award for his work on "Wild About Harry" at the 2010 CineGear Expo; the film also earned the best feature film award. In addition to feature films, Chomyn's work includes commercials, music videos, documentaries, television series, and short films. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Fairfield University, and his Master of Fine Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Theater, Film & Television.
While budgetary constraints prompted the decision to reduce the festival from 10 to five days, Torre emphasizes the same level of commitment and energy remains. Work continues to select this year's juried films, along with finalizing times and locations for the screenings, workshops and other events. The John C. Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library will host many screenings, Torre said. Three graduate students in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts -- Sylvia Dadian, Alexa Nutile, and Darren S. O'Bryan -- are working on programming, screening and workshop locations.
There were more than 230 film submissions, with projects coming from countries including the United States, Bangladesh, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, China. In addition to awards to the top films in each category, there will be awards for audience choice, and the John Michaels Film Award winner. The "Best of the Fest" will again be at the Liberty Theater in Murphysboro.
As in the past, the festival will also include non-competition events and screenings, including work from cinema and photography alumnus Josh Hyde. Hyde, a 2003 SIU Carbondale graduate and 1997 graduate of Carbondale Community High School, will discuss filmmaking with students while on campus, Torre said. Hyde's first feature film, "Postales," made its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2010, and has since been shown at numerous other festivals, including the Cinemanila International Film Festival in the Philippines, Starz Denver Film Festival, Edmonton International Film Festival, New York International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, and the London Latin America Film Festival.
"We are excited to have him," Torre said. "It's a great opportunity for students to see the work that former students have done after they leave here. You don't have to be in Hollywood to be a successful filmmaker."
For more information visit the festival's website, http://bigmuddyfilm.com/. There is also a Big Muddy Film Festival page on Facebook.
Read more: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/4247c6c8-437f-11e1-a872-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1n2MYCNVh
The Big Muddy Film Festival, based at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has become one of the best-respected, wholly independent, community-focused film festivals. In its 34th year, Big Muddy is among the oldest student-organized film festivals in the United States.
The Big Muddy Film Festival celebrates the innovative works of emerging and established filmmakers and media artists, and is dedicated to encouraging grassroots filmmaking in local communities, and to bringing independent film to the rural Midwest.
This year, as of the second submission deadline, almost two hundred submissions have been received from all over the world—including submissions from Japan, Spain, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea. With one deadline to go, the festival will screen many more exciting new films, the best of which will be programmed in the 34th annual film festival, to be held February 22-26, 2012.
The 33rd Annual Big Muddy Film Festival saw a record number of entries as well as people in attendance, according to Michele Torre, event coordinator.
“We also had record numbers of filmmakers in attendance at this year's festival,” said Torre, “This benefits the students on campus.”
According to Torre, there were three films by alumni in the festival this year. Kate Balsley, Stephen Jennings and Phil Hastings - whose film Steadfast won an honorable mention in the Experimental category.
“Thanks to the generous support from the Fine Arts Activity Fee, this year our jurors also offered workshops and critiques which is another way we are able to enrich the community and the learning experience here at SIUC,” said Torre.
She added, “We found out midway through that the festival received an Illinois Arts Council Grant, which will partially fund festival costs.”
Torre said the committee is thankful to the Diversity Committee and the Global Media Research Center for making the opening event (the premiere of Infiltrating Hollywood) a huge success. She also noted that graduate students (Derek Smith, Deron Williams and Silvia Dadian) worked really hard to raise money so that all students could attend the festival free of charge.
Torre is an assistant professor in the Cinema and Photography Department. Her research interests include Silent Cinema, Russian and East European Cinema, Female Industrial Practice, Animation, Film History and Theory, Independent Cinema, and Film Festivals.
My name is Adam Davis. I'm originally from Salt Lake City, Utah and I'm a PhD student.
For my area of study, I decided to mix new media and cinema. My background is in cinema but I found opportunities here to study new media and certainly it's one of the frontiers where research is going and so I decided to try to put the two together, looking both at cinematic elements in virtual worlds--I study Second Life in particular--and also avatars in film.
When I was deciding what school to attend I received several phone calls and emails from different faculty. I had the opportunity to talk with some of them and even come out here and meet a few of them, and the department is kind with their support of students financially as well as academically, and all of these contributed to my decision come here to SIUC.
Some of the courses that I enjoyed were those that focused on media arts and media arts theory. I really liked these because they provided a really strong background and a broad background in a lot of different media, and I find intersections between those media to be particularly fascinating.
I did have the chance to participate in the Big Muddy Film Festival. My role was a screener. So along with other students and faculty we met on a Saturday and reviewed films that were submitted to the festival and this was not only enlightening to see what kind of material was being submitted but we also had some good discussions as we viewed the films and compared our different takes.
I was fortunate to get the Morris Fellowship, which provides 3 years of full funding, and then it goes into an assistantship. So this allowed me extra time for class work, and it's been a really good experience and I'm grateful for the university.
I have presented my material at a number of conferences. I've also participated in the poster session that's held here on campus and worked on submitting material for publication which is still in progress.
My plans are to teach at a university or college level and also to continue my own creative writing and other media related pursuits. I do some photography and a couple of other things. I've always received a lot of support from the department.
In fact, it's been very impressive how open and welcome they've been to my concerns and how they've helped me to craft my program, and I would recommend for anybody considering a graduate program in any of the fields that MCMA covers to consider SIU.
My name is Lauren Selmon Roberts. Originally I am from Norman, Oklahoma and I am an M.F.A. candidate in Media Arts.
My background is in broadcast news. Now in the Master of Fine Arts program I really love combining the news world with the world of fine art.
My thesis project is a full-length documentary that was shot in Liberia, West Africa. It tells the story of one woman who saved the lives of over 250 kids during Liberia's war.
I initially found the M.F.A. program in a film school book and what drew my eye to it was that the M.F.A. program specifically has a three-year assistantship program for its students.
So when you compare it to similar programs across the country, it's very affordable.
One of the favorite classes that I've taken is a digital documentary class with professor Angela Aguayo.
In that class, it was really incredible because each student in the matter of a semester put their own documentary together and at the end of the semester we had a public screening where we invited the public to come and check out our work.
Because of my background in news, when I came to SIU I really wanted to stay involved with news and some on-camera work. So I got involved with River Region Evening Edition and did some volunteer reporting.
I also was the host for Scholastic Hi-Q, which is a game show that we have on campus here for high school students
Also, I was involved with the Big Muddy Film Festival. Two years, I served on the selection committee to see which films got into the festival.
For my assistantship, I helped out with documentary classes and some news courses.
It was really interesting to be a teacher, it was my first time doing that.
I had a fantastic time mentoring students through the creative sides of their news projects and their documentaries.
A few highlights of publicly showing my work: I showed one of my photo series' at the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles, I presented some of my writing here on campus at the Global Media Research Center Conference, some research that I had done about the coverage that Africa receives here in the West.
In the future, I still want to combine my background in news with my newfound knowledge of fine art.
I'm going to be looking for some news jobs and some jobs that are more focused on long format work ... just sending my application out and seeing what doors open.
If you want to really learn how to think outside the box in experimental ways, alternative ways, ways that you don't think you've ever thought about before, I think this Masters of Fine Arts program will be a good fit for you because the professors here, at least for me taught me how to see things with a new lens, and by having my work critiqued by a diverse group of people day in and day out, it really teaches you to see what you make in a whole new way.
MURPHYSBORO - At the same time the Academy Award broadcast beamed into millions of homes Sunday evening, the Liberty Theater rolled out its own red carpet in celebration of film.
The historic Murphysboro theater hosted the Big Muddy Film Festival's "Best of the Fest," a culmination of more than a week's worth of showing at numerous venues in Southern Illinois.
In a Facebook post to friends Sunday afternoon, Big Muddy Film Festival Faculty Adviser Michele Torre joked it was "the Oscars of the Midwest."
Comparisons aside, Torre - an assistant professor in cinema at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, in her second year as adviser of the long-running film festival - pointed out that there was a connection between this year's Academy Awards and the Big Muddy Film Festival. Last year's winner for Best Animation, "Let's Pollute," is nominated for an Oscar.
"It's the only thing of its kind in the area," Torre said. "We've continued to screen fantastic films year after year."
Over the years, the Big Muddy Film Festival has grown from about 35 entries in 1979 to 150 to300 entries from all 50 states, and from many countries all over the world including India, Haiti, United Kingdom, Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Taiwan and Singapore.
Danielle Williamson, a member of the fest's executive staff, in her fourth year of association, said she felt this year was one of the most interactive.
"We've had a really amazing turnout of visiting filmmakers from all over the country to support their films," Williamson said.
Bruce Wallace of Murphysboro has attended the Big Muddy Film Festival each of its 33 years. Wallace said he has loved independent film for a long time and tries to at least get to the "Best of the Fest" each year, even if he couldn't attend any of the other screenings.
A fan of independent film, Wallace wasn't too concerned about missing the Oscars.
"They don't do anything for me," he said.
Lois Murphy of the Liberty Theater was pleased to host the "Best of the Fest" for a fifth year.
"It brings different people into the theater," Murphy said. "We always like working with the students, they're a good bunch."
Friday, February 18th, 2011
5:00 p.m. An Evening with Femi Odugbemi
Guyon Auditorium, Morris Library, SIUC
Award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Femi Odugbemi will present two of his films, Bar Beach Blues and Maroko. Curated by Olusegun Ojewuyi. Co-Sponsored by the SIUC Diversity Committee and the Global Media Research Center.
7:00 p.m. Infiltrating Hollywood
Guyon Auditorium, Morris Library, SIUC
Guest filmmakers Christine Acham and Clifford Ward present their 57-minute documentary on the controversial and repressed 1973 film The Spook Who Sat by the Door.
8:30 p.m. Festival Opening Reception
Morris Library Rotunda
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- For more than three decades, the Big Muddy Film Festival has regularly sought to bring the best of independent filmmaking to the region, and expand creative opportunities for students.
The 33rd annual installment will continue the tradition when it opens next month at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Three award-winning filmmakers will bring their expertise and insight as jurors for the festival, which runs Feb. 18-27 at various venues on campus, in Carbondale, and around Southern Illinois. Each of the judges will hold workshops or critiques along with screening and discussing their films.
Joshua Jones, Kerry Laitala, and Shanti Thakur will judge films that will compete for recognition and prizes.
“We’ve got some amazing films this year,” said Michele Torre, festival adviser and an assistant professor in the Department of Cinema and Photography. “I’m happy with the quality of films we’ve received and I’m confident we will have an excellent lineup.”
Started in 1979, the film festival remains one of the oldest film festivals affiliated with a university in the nation. The festival features juried films in four categories: animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative.
There will be 66 juried films in this year’s event, in addition to non-competition films showcased throughout the festival. Work continues on finalizing times and locations for the film workshops, and other festival events.
There were more than 200 submissions, a 68 percent increase over last year, Torre said. Film submissions came from more than 24 countries, including Iraq, Kurdistan, Luxemburg, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, China.
Torre credits the increase in submissions to earlier registration and the work of three graduate students in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts -- Silvia Dadian, Derek W. Smith, and Deron Williams.
Festival judges have an array of interests, including animation, narrative and experimental films.
Jones, an assistant professor in the School of Cinema and Interactive Media at DePaul University, is known for his animation work, including work for Will Vinton Studios on stop motion TV shows, “The PJ’s” and “Gary and Mike,” in addition to independent films, music videos, commercials, and feature films, according to his biography. Jones will host a workshop on character modeling in animation, in addition to screening samples from his past work and a current work in progress, Torre said.
Jones earned his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University’s Department of Computer Graphic Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in the Department of Animation and Digital Arts.
Laitala, an experimental filmmaker, manipulates film through hand-processing to “reshape ‘found’ materials into 16mm and 35 mm handcrafted short films that embody and celebrate the phenomenon of motion pictures that made the early cinema going experience awe-inspiring,” according to her biography. She earned her bachelor’s degree in film and photography from the Massachusetts College of Art, and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Film from San Francisco Art Institute. Her 2003 film, “Out of the Ether,” earned top honors in the experimental category at the 2004 Big Muddy Film Festival.
Laitala’s workshop, “Lightstruck,” will deal with hand-processed film. The workshop will be open to a limited number of participants, and there will be a small fee for supplies. Students in the workshop will expose and hand-develop their film for editing and screening during the festival. Laitala will be screening a variety of films including some of her 3-D work, Torre said.
Thakur is an award winning filmmaker widely known for her documentary, experimental and narrative films. Thakur is an assistant professor in film production at Hunter College-City University of New York. She earned bachelor’s degrees in communications from Concordia University, and in psychology from Ottawa University, along with a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Media Studies from Temple University.
Thakur will offer a critique for budding filmmakers. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to screen their films and get advice on their projects. She will also screen a variety of her short films, which demonstrate the breadth of her career, Torre said.
The festival will focus on women filmmakers and include special screenings of works of female filmmakers, Torre said.
On opening night, Feb. 18, the festival will provide the Midwest premiere of “Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door.” Directors Christine Acham and Clifford Ward will also be at the festival to discuss the documentary which looks at the making of the 1973 film, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” and history of history of African Americans in Hollywood.
The festival also plans to have “almost midnight” film screenings in the Communications Building.
Additional information is available on the festival’s website, http://bigmuddyfilm.com/33/home.html. There is also a Big Muddy Film Festival page on Facebook.
The 33rd Annual Big Muddy Film Festival will take place February 18 to 27.
There were over 200 submissions to this year's festival, which is up from last year's number. They have some great jurors lined up: animator, Joshua Jones; narrative filmmaker, Shanti Thakur; and experimental filmmaker, Kerry Laitala.
For more information visit http://bigmuddyfilm.com or join the Big Muddy Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11370937623.
My name is Lauren Selmon Roberts. Originally I am from Norman, Oklahoma and I am an M.F.A. candidate in Media Arts.
My background is in broadcast news. Now in the Master of Fine Arts program I really love combining the news world with the world of fine art.
My thesis project is a full-length documentary that was shot in Liberia, West Africa. It tells the story of one woman who saved the lives of over 250 kids during Liberia's war.
I initially found the M.F.A. program in a film school book and what drew my eye to it was that the M.F.A. program specifically has a three-year assistantship program for its students.
So when you compare it to similar programs across the country, it's very affordable.
One of the favorite classes that I've taken is a digital documentary class with professor Angela Aguayo.
In that class, it was really incredible because each student in the matter of a semester put their own documentary together and at the end of the semester we had a public screening where we invited the public to come and check out our work.
Because of my background in news, when I came to SIU I really wanted to stay involved with news and some on-camera work. So I got involved with River Region Evening Edition and did some volunteer reporting.
I also was the host for Scholastic Hi-Q, which is a game show that we have on campus here for high school students
Also, I was involved with the Big Muddy Film Festival. Two years, I served on the selection committee to see which films got into the festival.
For my assistantship, I helped out with documentary classes and some news courses.
It was really interesting to be a teacher, it was my first time doing that.
I had a fantastic time mentoring students through the creative sides of their news projects and their documentaries.
A few highlights of publicly showing my work: I showed one of my photo series' at the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles, I presented some of my writing here on campus at the Global Media Research Center Conference, some research that I had done about the coverage that Africa receives here in the West.
In the future, I still want to combine my background in news with my newfound knowledge of fine art.
I'm going to be looking for some news jobs and some jobs that are more focused on long format work ... just sending my application out and seeing what doors open.
If you want to really learn how to think outside the box in experimental ways, alternative ways, ways that you don't think you've ever thought about before, I think this Masters of Fine Arts program will be a good fit for you because the professors here, at least for me taught me how to see things with a new lens, and by having my work critiqued by a diverse group of people day in and day out, it really teaches you to see what you make in a whole new way.
SIU Foundation