October 27 & November 1-3, 2012
Charleston, Illinois
THE VERSATILE GENE HACKMAN
Saturday, October 27 EIU, Tarble Arts Center Classroom
10am - 1pm Stop Motion Film Workshop led by Gabe Przygoda (ages 11-14)
Thursday, November 1 EIU, Coleman Hall 3290
2pm Colloquium: the films of Gene Hackman
Thursday, November 1 EIU, Doudna Lecture Hall
3:30pm Bonnie and Clyde with introduction by Robin Murray
Friday, November 2 EIU, Doudna Theatre
7pm Unforgiven with introduction by Chuck Koplinski
Friday, November 2 EIU, Doudna Theatre
10pm The Royal Tenenbaums with introduction by Chuck Koplinski
Saturday, November 3 Downtown Charleston, Charleston Public Library
10:30am-12pm Children’s Hands-on Activities
Saturday, November 3 EIU, Tarble Arts Center Atrium
1:30pm Student Stop Motion Film Premiere
Saturday, November 3 EIU, Tarble Arts Center Atrium
2pm Hoosierswith introduction by EIU Basketball Coach Jay Spoonhour
Saturday, November 3 EIU, Doudna Theatre
7pm The French Connection with introduction by Dann Gire
Festival co-sponsors are Eastern Illinois University's College of Arts and Humanities; the Coles County Arts Council; Tarble Arts Center, EIU; Doudna Fine Arts Center, EIU; Charleston Carnegie Public Library; Booth Library, EIU;
http://castle.eiu.edu/~evff/
Gene Hackman is just one of a surprising number of east-central Illinois natives who went on to achieve success in Hollywood, and this year, it's his turn to be honored in the Embarras Valley Film Festival.
Five films featuring Hackman -- an Academy Award-winning actor who grew up in Danville -- will be showcased in the film festival, which is held annually to pay tribute to movie stars with connections to the region.
The 2012 festival, themed "The Versatile Gene Hackman," is set for Oct. 27 and Nov. 1-3. All events are free and open to the public.
Each film will be introduced by a guest speaker. It's only fitting that "Hoosiers," regarded by many as the best sports film of all time, will be prefaced by remarks from new EIU men's basketball coach Jay Spoonhour. Spoonhour's reputation as a basketball expert is well-established, but many will be surprised to learn that he is also a self-described "movie junkie" who co-hosted the "Movie Show" on KFNS radio in St. Louis in the late 1990s.
Other speakers will be Dann Gire, a Charleston High School and EIU graduate who is president and founding director of the Chicago Film Critics Association; Chuck Koplinski, who been reviewing films for 20 years for central Illinois media; and Robin Murray, who teaches in the EIU English department and serves as the coordinator for the College of Arts and Humanities’ film studies minor.
Five Hackman movies will be shown:
- In "Bonnie and Clyde" (R, 1967), a bored small-town girl and a small-time bank robber leave in their wake a string of violent robberies and newspaper headlines that catch the imagination of the Depression-struck Midwest in this take on the legendary crime spree of these archetypal lovers on the run. Hackman plays Buck Barrow, older brother of Clyde and member of the Barrow gang.
- "Unforgiven" (R, 1992) blurs lines between heroism and villainy, and man and myth, when prostitutes unsatisfied by the justice served by Sheriff "Little Bill" (Hackman) in the death of one of their friends put a bounty on her cowboy killers. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as “The Schofield Kid” (Jaimz Woolvett), as well as aging and reformed killer William Munny (Clint Eastwood) and his partner Ned (Morgan Freeman), complicating conflicts between law and lawlessness in the West.
- In "The Royal Tenenbaums" (R, 2001), an estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when their father, Royal (Hackman), announces he has a terminal illness.
- Based on a true story, "Hoosiers" (PG, 1986) highlights Norman Dale (Hackman), a coach with a checkered past, and Shooter (Dennis Hopper), a local drunk, who train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship.
- William Friedkin's gritty police drama "The French Connection" (R, 1972) portrays two tough New York City cops trying to intercept a huge heroin shipment coming from France. An interesting contrast is established between "Popeye" Doyle (Hackman), a short-tempered alcoholic bigot who is nevertheless a hardworking and dedicated police officer, and his nemesis, Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), a suave and urbane gentleman who is nevertheless a criminal and one of the largest drug suppliers of pure heroin to North America.
Before any of the films are screened, a colloquium will also be held Thursday to discuss Hackman's body of work.
The 2012 EVFF is sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities, Tarble Arts Center, Doudna Fine Arts Center and Booth Library, as well as the Coles County Arts Council and Charleston Carnegie Public Library. The EVFF also receives support from City of Charleston Tourism Funds.
For more information, please visit the EVFF website.
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