Twelfth Annual Embarras Valley Film Festival: Film Culture and Civil Rights in Illinois

The Embarras Valley Film Festival celebrates its 12^th year with a focus on civil rights in Illinois. Our theme, "For All the World to See II: Film Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights," expands on the Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights exhibit and program in Eastern's Booth Library: http://www.library.eiu.edu/exhibits/civilrights/. Held annually in Charleston, Ill. since 2004, this year’s festival will be held Nov. 2-4 on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

The festival kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2 with the screening of “Chi-Raq” and an introduction by Political Science professor and film studies minor faculty member Kevin Anderson in the Coleman Hall Auditorium, Room 1255. As a modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Chi-Raq is set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago. The murder of a child by a stray bullet prompts a group of women led by Lysistrata to organize against the on-going violence in Chicago's Southside, creating a movement that challenges the nature of race, sex and violence in America and around the world. 

Thursday evening, the 25 official selections from the Student-Produced Short Film Contest will be shown from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Coleman Auditorium. The three winning films will be announced during the screening. Over 190 entries were submitted for this year’s contest from student filmmakers throughout the U.S.

On Friday, Nov. 4, EVFF coordinators will introduce “Between Two Rivers” at 4:00 in Coleman Auditorium. Filmed, edited and directed by artists Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan, Between Two Rivers offers a remarkable insight into a community struggling with severe economic, social and environmental pressures. With lyrical and striking contrasts between the past and present, the film explores the multiple factors that have led to Cairo, Illinois’s rise and fall, from booming river-trade and juke-joints to mob-lynchings and race riots which tore apart the community. Between Two Rivers illustrates the long-term impact of the violent civil unrest, economic boycotts, curfews and martial law that so deeply divided the community.

The EVFF is a yearly event honoring a person or theme relevant to the Embarras Valley, which encompasses much of east-central Illinois. Past festivals have honored Gregg Toland, William Phipps, Burl Ives, James Jones, Joan Allen, Lincoln, Gene Hackman, silent films, films for and about children and young adults, Dick Van Dyke, Richard Pryor, and documentary films. Now in its 12th year, the Embarras Valley Film Festival’s mission is to encourage broader appreciation for and study of film as a potent vehicle for human expression and communication through the exploration of cinematic arts involving people from Illinois and alumni of EIU. This year’s festival is sponsored in part by the City of Charleston Tourism Fund. Other Festival co-sponsors are the Coles County Arts Council and Booth Library, EIU.

All festival events are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Murray at rlmurray@eiu.edu, Kit Morice at kmorice@eiu.edu, or David Bell at dsbell@eiu.edu. You can also visit the website at castle.eiu.edu/~evff/.