Media & Cinema Studies 10 | College of Media

Student-produced sci-fi film receives multiple honors at film festivals

December 6, 2022 | Holly Rushakoff

“Do you think it’s possible to build a computer that simulates real life? … If you were living in a simulation, would you be able to tell?” So begins The Goji Project, a short science fiction film produced by students in MACS 480: Advanced Filmmaking last spring. The film has received recognition from three film festivals this fall.

The Goji Project won Best Sci-Fi from Crown Point International Film Festival in October, which awards films in a monthly competition for filmmakers around the world. It also received an honorable mention for a student film at Art Film Awards, and a certificate of achievement in the Sci-Fi Short category at LA International Film Festival’s Indie Short Fest.

Students produced The Goji Project in the course taught by Victor Font, lecturer in the Department of Media & Cinema Studies, and premiered it at the UIUC Student Film Festival in April. The nearly 23-minute film was written and directed by Lincoln Rogers, then a senior in advertising who graduated in May 2022.

“The best part of the whole process for me was the connections I made with the other people in the class,” said Rogers, who is now a creative maker at SOCIALDEVIANT, an advertising service in Chicago. “When you’re in go-mode, on the clock, filming, those connections happen really quickly…. And what started as a script that I read to the class over a Zoom meeting became this story that was really meaningful to everybody, that we all got to have a hand in bringing to life.”

Rogers was inspired by a philosophical piece called “The Simulation Argument” by Nick Bostrom: “How likely is it that we are the first real humans, rather than digital copies made by humans far more advanced than us?” Rogers explained. He contemplated how people derive value from their lives and make sense of patterns and coincidences.

What started as a script that I read to the class over a Zoom meeting became this story that was really meaningful to everybody, that we all got to have a hand in bringing to life.

Lincoln Rogers

Writer and Director of The Goji Project

“My favorite scene is the conversation between the two Gojis, when orange-hair Goji says [to blue-hair Goji] that, ‘No matter what the simulation means, it is beautiful.’ The unknowns of the universe can be terrifying, but they came together in this crazy way to create a beautiful world for us.”

As a Media student, Rogers knew he wanted to make movies and said Font “is an amazing professor” and took his Advanced Filmmaking course twice “because it was such a valuable experience.” Rogers is already working on his next film—another sci-fi—”about a man who works at an insurance agency who has an advanced AI assistant implanted in his brain.”

Font created the Advanced Filmmaking course in 2019 but it wasn’t offered in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Department of Media & Cinema Studies has been collaborating with the Department of Theatre in the College of Fine and Applied Arts to recruit student actors for their Advanced Filmmaking course. This fall, Theatre’s Advanced Scriptwriting course will generate the script to be used this spring. The class will also collaborate again with Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, as they did in 2019 with the Department of Theatre to create the short film Red Ball. The MACS course plans to film before spring break and to edit a first draft to present at the 2023 UIUC Student Film Festival.

“More resources lead to more talent, better productions, and more achievements,” Font said about the cross-campus collaboration. He also hopes their recognition by film festivals will attract more students interested in pursuing media and cinema studies as a major and a career.

“I’m sure this is our first award of a lot and better ones to come,” Font added.

See behind-the-scenes photos from various stages of filming The Goji Project, which used the new production studio in Gregory Hall to hold auditions and the television studio set at Illinois Public Media to construct a dorm room.

Watch The Goji Project:

Film credits:

Written and Directed by: Lincoln Rogers (BS ’22, advertising)
Executive Producer: Victor Font, lecturer of media and cinema studies
Original Score: Tony Rogers (Lincoln’s father)
Director of Photography: Robyn Pease (Class of 2023, media and cinema studies)
Chief Lighting Technician: Nathan Carlberg (BS ’22, media and cinema studies)
Starring: Raiya Wen and Ben Mathew (both BFA ’22, theatre/acting, College of Fine and Applied Arts)

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2022-23 Ebert Fellows announced

November 7, 2022 | Faith Lee, Communications Intern

Through the annual Roger Ebert Fellows program, established in 2015 at the College of Media, three undergraduate students are selected each fall to gain in-depth learning experiences that focus on critical thinking, arts and entertainment criticism, and interpretative journalism.

The 2022-23 Roger Ebert Fellows are Levi (Lee) Beckett, Andrew Stover, and Tania Trejo, all media and cinema studies majors.

Named after the late Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and University of Illinois journalism alumnus Roger Ebert, the Ebert Fellows will receive a stipend and work closely with Michael Phillips, film critic for the Chicago Tribune, to strengthen their writing, radio, video, and storytelling skills across a wide range of multimedia platforms. The experience, coordinated through the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies, will prepare them for an increasingly competitive arts and entertainment media job market.

Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the program to adopt a hybrid model, but this year will offer more in-person interactions. The students will connect monthly with Phillips for workshops. They will also attend film festivals, including the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri, in March.

“It’s been very difficult to work around the limitations of what we had to do when it was almost entirely online,” Phillips said. “I sense that people are eager and grateful for a return to as much in-person activity as they feel is possible.”

Phillips has been an advisor and mentor since the program began and has enjoyed working with the students. He hopes that they learn as much from him as he does from them.

“I want to make them more confident about doing something they’ve never done before,” Phillips said. “I try to get all of us to think hard about what it is we’re trying to say when we write something and how well we’ve argued our point.”

Meet the 2022-23 Ebert Fellows:

Lee Beckett is a junior in media and cinema studies, with a minor in political science. Beckett has always enjoyed the art of filmmaking and critiquing films. He appreciates Roger Ebert’s work and is excited to explore new opportunities and to network.

“I think by getting experience and hearing from people who have learned by trial and error is the best way to learn,” Beckett said. “We’re going to go to a couple film festivals and we’re going to meet with some people who are making content in the local area and also in Chicago, so I’m hoping to learn from professionals.”

On campus, Beckett is involved in the Young Democratic Socialists of America and Red Bison, an ecological restoration organization.

Beckett’s favorite film is Fantastic Mr. Fox because he “really likes the story and the characters and it’s simple and fun, but it also has a deeper theme underneath.”

Andrew Stover is a junior in media and cinema studies, with a minor in critical film production. He developed his interest in film in 2016 and created a blog dedicated to reviewing films. Stover is a longtime fan of Roger Ebert’s work and is honored to be chosen as a fellow.

“I have a genuine passion for film criticism, and I was excited to be selected. It’s a great honor,” Stover said. “I hope to gain more experience outside of film.”

Stover continues his passion for critiquing films by writing reviews for Film Threat, an independent film review site where he’s published more than 125 reviews. He looks forward to working with Phillips and the other fellows to expand his skills.

“Having a broad knowledge of film, podcasting, and other forms of media that I will learn about during this fellowship will help me be able to do more than just film-centric [work],” Stover said.

Stover said his favorite satirical comedy is The Truman Show because he “admires Jim Carrey’s dramatic turn as Truman Burbank” and thinks it is one of his best performances.

Tania Trejo is a senior in media and cinema studies. She loves to plan and create films. Trejo hopes to highlight the Latino community in her work in the future.

“This fellowship will help me achieve my goals by providing me with different skills such as interviewing, writing, and podcasting,” Trejo said. “I will also get more exposure and access. Since I will be working with people who are in the industry, I am excited to ask more questions about what they do.”

Trejo said she is also excited to attend film festivals and watch films that she would not normally watch on her own.

Currently, her favorite movie is Everything Everywhere All at Once because “the movie itself tackles issues that first-generation American families face in a funny and sentimental way.”

James W. Carey Faculty Fellows selected for 2022-24

Two College of Media faculty members affiliated with the Institute of Communications Research have been selected as James W. Carey Faculty Fellows for academic years 2022-2024. Both Angela Aguayo, associate professor of media and cinema studies, and Chang-Dae Ham, associate professor of advertising and director of graduate studies in advertising, will receive the honor and a stipend to support their research activities.

As a Carey Faculty Fellow, Aguayo will work on a book project called Collective Matters, which examines how traditions in the humanities, health care, law, and education manifest through documentary in non-theatrical spaces, addressing the rituals of media producing, screening, and circulating that bind communities across time. During his Carey Faculty Fellow tenure, Ham will conduct research on digital data literacy and privacy issues.

Established in 2021, the James W. Carey Fund for Faculty Excellence was endowed by Carey’s four sons to honor their father’s legacy at the College of Media and within the field of media. At ICR, Carey earned his doctoral degree, was a research professor, and served as director (1969-1976); he also served as dean of the college. The Carey Fund supports research activities of the outstanding faculty in ICR, the world’s oldest program for interdisciplinary research and doctoral education in communication and media studies.

To join Carey’s family, former students, colleagues, and friends in growing the endowment, please visit the College of Media giving page, click on the orange “Give Online Now” button, and select the Carey Fund under “Nurture Excellence in Media Faculty.”

Mark L. Brandt Public Engagement Fellows program funds eight fall projects in the College of Media

October 4, 2022 | Holly Rushakoff

Eight projects led by College of Media faculty and staff have been selected to receive funding as part of the Mark L. Brandt Public Engagement Fellows program, established this year to provide undergraduate Media students with professional experience in public engagement activities. It also provides opportunities for students to participate in programs that support first-generation college students, students from underrepresented groups, and/or students with significant financial need.

“We are delighted to be honoring Mark Brandt’s legacy through opportunities for our students to work with College of Media faculty and staff on projects that make a difference in our community, our state, and the nation,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin.

Brandt was a 1986 alumnus of Illinois who retired early from a career in finance at General Electric. After his death in 2021, the College of Media received an estate gift of just over $1 million to create the Brandt Public Engagement Fellows program. The trustee of his estate, Mary Leyendecker, chose to ensure that his legacy makes a positive impact on students and society. The funds will provide internships for up to 40 Media students annually, with opportunities announced in both fall and spring semesters.

Below is a list of the projects, activities, and programs that received funding for Brandt Public Engagement Fellows for Fall 2022. College of Media undergraduate students who wish to apply for these opportunities should check their email inbox for the October 3 Advising Newsletter for more details.

Mis/Disinformation in Asian and Asian American Communities Research Project
Led by Rachel Kuo, Assistant Professor of Media & Cinema Studies
The Brandt Fellow will support research on a project that studies the historical and political contexts of mis/disinformation in Asian and Asian American communities through the use of community education workshops, oral histories, and focus groups. Working closely with the PI, the Brandt Fellow will support data collection and analysis; facilitate community research workshops and skills-trainings; and co-write and produce resource guides on Asian and Asian American history and ethnic media; and meet different community partners.

Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies
Led by Julie Turnock, Associate Professor of Media & Cinema Studies
This academic year (2022-2023) is the inaugural year of the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies. The Brandt Fellow will primarily use their skills in web design, graphic design, and public relations, to build and update a public-facing website for the Ebert Center, and work with the College of Media’s Director of Communications to publicize Ebert Center events via social media. They will also play a key role to help make the activities of the Ebert Center available to the local community.

SHIELD Illinois Research Project
Led by:
Ewa Maslowska, Assistant Professor of Advertising
Margaret Ng, Assistant Professor of Journalism
Harsh Taneja, Associate Professor of Advertising
The Brandt Fellows will help with a project with SHIELD Illinois—the community COVID-19 saliva-based testing program of the State of Illinois. Our project aims to understand public attitudes, news framing, and diffusion networks related to SHIELD COVID-19 testing through social media discourse and news coverage. The Brandt Fellows will take part in the process of data gathering and analysis and develop visualizations.

IMEDIA
Led by:
Amanda Ciafone, Associate Professor of Media & Cinema Studies, Director of Graduate Studies for the Institute of Communications Research
CL Cole, Department Head, Professor of Media & Cinema Studies
Stephanie Craft, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Journalism
Michelle Nelson, Professor of Advertising
The Brandt Fellow will help develop the digital communications strategy of the Initiative for Media Education Inquiry and Action. IMEDIA is a collaboration between the College of Media and the College of Education to help fill high school teachers’ needs for media literacy training and curriculum development in light of new Illinois State mandates requiring a unit of “media literacy” in all public Illinois high schools.

New Voices Internship Program
Led by Daniel Almanza, Assistant Director of Media Career Services
The New Voices Internship Program provides first-generation college students with support and opportunities to grow their resume as soon as they join the College of Media. Students in the program are given opportunities for professional development through workshop-style meetings with the Assistant Director of Career Services, as well as other members of the campus community. In addition to interviews, students will participate in projects based on their interests, as they align with the content needs of the College of Media.

Brand Hub
Led by Susan Muirhead, Visiting Associate Director, Hub for Brand Innovation and Advertising Technology
The Brandt Fellow will work with the Brand Hub on further development of their community and outreach efforts primarily through the development of Fall and Spring Brand Hub Marketing Fairs, in partnership with the Champaign Public Library. This includes support with program development, event marketing materials, and with the recruitment of student volunteers at these events. They will also be instrumental in the implementation of a pipeline system for nonprofits to work with the Brand Hub and courses in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising. The Brandt Fellow will also assist, where possible, with the development of the second year of the Impact Marketing and Fundraising Fellowship program, which is set to launch in early June 2023.

Illinois Community Media Project
Led by Angela Aguayo, Associate Professor of Media & Cinema Studies
The Illinois Community Media Project is a grant-funded project to bring media production, curation, and documentation to underserved communities. We begin with building connections with local service organizations and through collaborative identification of social problems, design a media production outreach program. Our Illinois Community Media team works hands-on with students to connect classroom knowledge with the community. The Brandt Fellows will assist in planning public-facing speaker visits, organizing, and assisting with community-based projects, creating documentation content of events, and building website and social media presence for the organization.

News, Brews & Beatz
Led by Moss Bresnahan, Executive Director of Illinois Public Media
Illinois Public Media produces a quarterly series called News, Brews & Beatz—a space for diverse voices to engage in breakthrough conversations on community issues and realistic solutions. Each quarter, News, Brews & Beatz focuses on a different topic in a way that elevates Black voices and shares what individuals and nonprofit groups are doing to build community. The Brandt Fellow will assist with this multiplatform initiative, which includes content airing on TV, radio, and social media. They will also create short videos for TikTok and other social media as part of the News, Brews & Beatz initiative.

Pictured at top: Media alumna Dora Valkanova (PhD ’20, ICR), Urbana High School student Halie Thompson, and sophomore in journalism Ashley Gilbert discussed ways in which students were audiences and creators of social media content at an IMEDIA media literacy workshop this summer for public school educators. IMEDIA is one of the funding recipients in the Mark L. Brandt Public Engagement Fellows program.

Media faculty and TAs make list of teachers ranked as excellent

Congratulations to all of the College of Media faculty and teaching assistants who were ranked as excellent by their students!

This list is based on Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms completed by students during the Spring 2022 semester. Only those instructors who distributed ICES forms at least once during this time period and who released their data for publication are included in the list. View the complete list.

Note: * denotes that the instructor ratings were outstanding.

ADVERTISING

STEVE HALL – ADV 150

CHANG-DAE HAM – ADV 281 (Summer 2022)

* TERRY KASDAN – ADV 409

* AMANDA MABRY-FLYNN – ADV 283

* EWA MASLOWSKA – ADV 461

MICHELLE NELSON – ADV 582

* MARISA PEACOCK – ADV 491, ADV 498

SELA SAR – ADV 588

ALLISON VANCE – ADV 350

* STEPHEN WARREN – ADV 314

CARRIE WILSON-BROWN – ADV 290

* MIKE YAO – ADV 460

JOURNALISM

JOSH HEUMAN – JOUR 205

CAROL LOMBARDI – JOUR 220

MARGARET YEE MAN NG – JOUR 425

STEPHEN WARREN – JOUR 360, JOUR 361

MEDIA & CINEMA STUDIES

DEREK LONG – MACS 262

* JENNY OYALLON-KOLOSKI – MACS 504

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

* D. CARRILLO FUCHS – MACS 101

Y. GAO – MACS 100

J. GU – MACS 101

Y. KANG – MACS 100

A. MUKHOPADHYAY – MACS 101

J. PYO – MACS 100

Heuman to support media literacy initiatives as College of Media Dean’s Fellow

Josh Heuman, a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Media & Cinema Studies and the Department of Journalism, has been appointed by College of Media Dean Tracy Sulkin as a Dean’s Fellow for the coming academic year. Heuman will work with department and college leadership teams to facilitate activities around the college’s 2022-2023 annual theme of media literacy.

The idea for an annual theme emerged from the College of Media strategic planning process in 2020. Each year, college faculty and students brainstorm about possible themes and then vote to select among them. Last year, the inaugural theme focused on social justice.

“This is a critically important time to be examining media literacy,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “We’re excited to bring together perspectives from advertising, journalism, and media and cinema studies through class projects, college events, and public engagement. I’m very pleased to have Professor Heuman join our leadership team this year to support these initiatives.”

Heuman sees the theme as particularly timely. As the pandemic has increased our time spent online, there are concerns about how to be an informed citizen amidst the spread of misinformation.

“We are at a moment where the ways that we engage with media have qualitatively changed,” he said. “It’s hard not to peek out into the scary world outside and see lots of ways that [media literacy] is very relevant, whether we’re talking about the field of politics or social media, and [the effect it has on] young people.”

As part of his duties, Heuman will engage with IMEDIA, a joint collaboration between faculty in the College of Media and College of Education that is helping Illinois public school educators learn how to teach media literacy to students and hosted a media literacy workshop this summer.

“I think it’s a really exciting time to think about these questions, maybe at a more abstract level, but also to recognize and engage with the people who are putting these ideas on the ground, in schools across the state and other states, too,” he said.

Heuman’s own research explores media industries and regulation, especially in television, with an emphasis on the regulation of media work. He’s also interested in the evolution of the television writers’ room—the place where stories are first introduced.

“What kind of an environment is this, in which the stories that we see on the screen come to be formed and come to be shaped?” Heuman asked. “We have a sense of struggles and tensions and what’s at stake in the stories that we end up seeing on screen.”

As media literacy events are announced, Heuman invites faculty, students, and alumni, within the college and beyond, to engage in the conversations.

—Vivian La, Communications Intern

Helping Students Be Wise Consumers of Media

August 5, 2022 | Tom Hanlon (College of Education) with Holly Rushakoff (College of Media)

Educators at the IMEDIA media literacy workshop

Twenty-one Illinois public school educators learned how to incorporate media literacy into their curricula this summer through an IMEDIA media literacy workshop on campus, hosted by faculty from the College of Media and College of Education.

“Media literacy is especially important in light of the last presidential election and the amount of disinformation and misinformation that is pervasive in the U.S.,” said Professor Sarah McCarthey, head of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction in the College of Education. “It’s more and more critical that we equip students with the ability to discern what’s factual from what’s not.”

The workshop, attended by librarians and teachers from language arts, social studies, special education, and art, was developed by the College of Media and the College of Education. The two colleges recently jointly launched a program entitled “Initiative for Media Education Inquiry and Action (IMEDIA),” along with the cofounder of the Illinois Media Literacy Coalition, Michael Spikes of Northwestern University.

The workshop was designed to better equip teachers and students with media literacy skills to encourage mindful media consumption and production and to help teachers meet the needs of a state mandate requiring public high schools to teach media literacy beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.

“Many of us in the College of Media have been working on media literacy-related research and teaching in the last several years,” said Professor Stephanie Craft, head of the Department of Journalism. “When we heard about the new law, we wanted to be able to turn that work into action. Teaming up with curriculum and instruction experts in the College of Education seemed an ideal way to do that.”

The IMEDIA team introduced participants to key concepts in the framework for media literacy, with a focus on news media literacy. Educators were:

shown how to help students identify propaganda and see how the media have been used for social and political change throughout history,
instructed in how to use documentaries to increase media literacy, and
taught by a local Urbana High School student and undergraduate students from the College of Media how students are both creators and consumers of social media content.

The IMEDIA collaboration is working to build a robust critical media literacy curriculum in Illinois schools. Interested teachers will continue working with IMEDIA for follow up on media literacy implementation throughout the 2022-2023 school year.

“Preparing Illinois students to successfully navigate an increasingly complex media environment is vital to their well-being and ability to participate in democratic life,” Craft said.

“The end goal is quite simple,” McCarthey added. “We want all of our students to be prepared to be critical media consumers.”

Learn more about IMEDIA.

IMEDIA team members include Professor Sarah McCarthey from the College of Education; Professor Amanda Ciafone from the College of Media; Michael Spikes from Northwestern University; doctoral student Sakshi Bhalla from the College of Media; Professor Michelle Nelson from the College of Media; Professor CL Cole from the College of Media; Professor Stephanie Craft from the College of Media; and Professor Jon Hale from the College of Education.

Julie Turnock to serve as inaugural director of Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies

June 3, 2022 | Holly Rushakoff

Julie Turnock, associate professor of media and cinema studies, has been appointed to serve as the inaugural director of the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies, which officially launches this fall.

“The College of Media is eager to celebrate Roger Ebert’s legacy through this new center that will engage scholars, students, and movie fans alike in robust conversations about film,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “I look forward to the energy and insight that Professor Turnock will bring to the director role.”

“I’m excited to help the center bring both more awareness of cinema and cinema studies to the campus, as well as the opportunity to bring more film-centered programming,” Turnock said.

As part of her appointment, Turnock will coordinate event programming, including the Ebert Symposium, Ebert Lecture, and a screening series; Ebert research grants and travel grants for film studies; and the Ebert Fellows Program for undergraduate students.

The first event Turnock is planning is the annual Ebert Lecture for mid-fall, which will feature a scholar of film studies.

“We will invite a prominent speaker and hopefully also have a screening, both of which will be open to the public,” she said.

Turnock’s research focuses on film, with an emphasis on special/visual effects, and she coordinates the film studies curriculum.

“I never met Roger Ebert, but like many people around my age, I watched the TV program Siskel and Ebert at the Movies religiously every week,” Turnock said. “Even though most of the films they reviewed weren’t playing in my northern Indiana town, it was an exposure to a wide variety of movies that I might eventually be able to rent at the video store.”

Turnock served as acting head of the Department of Media & Cinema Studies during academic year 2019-2020. At the 2019 Chaz & Roger Ebert Symposium, she moderated a panel discussion on diversity in film. She is the author of The Empire of Effects: Industrial Light and Magic and the Rendering of Realism (University of Texas Press, 2022) and Plastic Reality: Special Effects, Technology, and the Emergence of 1970s Blockbuster Aesthetics (Columbia University Press, 2015).

Students in MACS 150 receive in-class awards for final videos

May 17, 2022

Students in MACS 150: Introduction to Digital Media Production, taught by Derek Long, assistant professor of media and cinema studies, celebrated their final work of the spring semester at an in-class awards ceremony called the “CORNIs,” where students received Camera Operators’ Registry of Note at Illinois certificates and small trophies, and watched the winning films.

In the course, which draws majors across campus, students learn photography, Photoshop, web design using HTML and CSS, and podcast production. They apply these skills to their final videos, which could be short fiction, documentary, or experimental films of about five minutes in teams of three or four. At the end of the course, Long wants students to learn what kind of media creator they are and to discover which part of the process they enjoy most.

“In the videos, students bring all the digital production skills they learn in MACS 150 to bear: framing and composition, storytelling structure, thinking about audiences, lighting and cinematography, sound recording, design, editing, and postproduction,” Long said. “They also need to make their videos in ways that accord with accepted practices of copyright and fair use, and they make cases for their use of copyrighted material in statements of attribution and fair use for each project. The assignment also serves as a culmination of students’ training in inclusive collaboration. They must draft and pitch a pre-production proposal that distributes labor equitably, and they write peer- and self-evaluations of their collaboration.”

Watch the student films selected to win CORNIs:

Narrator

Jester of the Bard

All He Ever Wanted

Birds Aren’t Real

Mysterious Algorithms

UIUC Student Film Festival 2022

Update on the winners of the 2022 UIUC Student Film Festival:

Jury Award: Joanna Raimo, for her film “A Tint of Red.” Among the jury’s comments was an appreciation of the film’s formal command and creative use of genre tropes.
Audience Award for favorite film: “Bodies of Water” by Ryan Leshock
World-Building Award for favorite film with a message of social justice: “Another Day” by Michael Leshock
Award for Favorite TikTok: “What Song” by Michael Leshock

Students in MACS 464: Film Festivals organized the first in-person festival since the pandemic caused the class to move the annual event online two years ago. The UIUC Student Film Festival, held April 30 in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum, drew 200+ attendees in person and 200+ views on the livestream channel.

Throughout Spring 2022, students organized, promoted, and produced this event featuring short films of all genres created by undergraduates, filmmaking clubs, and production classes across the University of Illinois campus. Watch the film fest recording here.

The UIUC Student Film Fest is sponsored by the Department of Media & Cinema Studies.

Below, see photos of the audience, production crew, and filmmakers. (Photos courtesy of Jon Knipp, lecturer in media and cinema studies, and instructor for this course.)