Tickets for all upcoming events are always available at our store: https://the-chambana-film-festival.square.site/
September 21 & 22
The First CineSonic Film Festival
CineSonic is a new film festival, run by the Chambana Film Society, in the Champaign-Urbana region that is exclusively for films about music.
Running Sunday, September 21 + Monday, September 22 at the Savoy 16 + IMAX.
Schedule:
Sunday, September 21
Noon – Where Are You, Jay Bennett
3:00pm – Music Narrative Short Films
5:00pm – Silents Synched: Sherlock Jr./R.E.M.
7:00pm – Music Documentary Short Films
Monday, September 22
7:00pm – It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
October: Weekly Screenings
I’ve been talking about this idea, basically as soon as I started screenings at the Savoy. I started as monthly screenings, and I said my pie in the sky dream was to hold weekly screenings. Well, at least for October, we are doing weekly screenings. Hopefully they go well, and continue through the year. They are still always on Sundays at The Savoy 16 + IMAX, but I am moving the time an hour earlier to 3pm.
If the first sixteen months of the Film Society were about laying the groundwork—building an audience, earning trust, establishing a strong partnership with our venue, connecting with local filmmakers, and gathering the supplies needed to make screenings possible—then the rest of this year is about something new: building connections with others.
Up until now, almost every film we’ve shown has been hand-picked by me (with the exception of the Academy Award-Nominated Short Films). Going forward, I want to open things up to more surprising programming—events I didn’t curate myself, and in some cases, films I may not have even seen yet.
Originally, I had planned for this date to be a showcase of animated films I discovered after The Savoy Lumiére. But then something even more exciting landed in my lap.
Sunday, October 5
Animation Mixtape
Don Hertzfeldt may be the most renowned American animator working today. Known for Rejected, The World of Tomorrow series, and It’s Such a Beautiful Day, Hertzfeldt is the only filmmaker to have won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice. His work is widely regarded as some of the most essential and influential animation of the 21st century.
So when I learned that Hertzfeldt himself had curated a theatrical program of short films, I knew I had to bring it here. Here’s how the program is described:
A dazzling journey through the minds of some of the world’s most exciting animators, Animation Mixtape features 12 exceptional short films that span the spectrum of strange, surreal, and sublime. Flying cows, mysterious gods, and lyrical pandemonium unfold in a curated lineup that blends cutting-edge new voices with unforgettable classics—including never-before-seen work from famed underground animator Bruce Bickford and a new animated introduction from Hertzfeldt himself.
Curated by Hertzfeldt, the program spotlights rising talents alongside the influential classics that first sparked his passion for animation more than three decades ago. “Animated short films are a vital part of our cinematic ecosystem, and I’ll always leap at every opportunity to bring the work of amazing artists to the biggest screens we can find,” said Hertzfeldt. “This feature-length collection includes many strange treasures I’ve admired over the years — from new films that haven’t been released widely yet, to titles that inspired me to become an animator over thirty years ago.”
Animation Mixtape is a theatrical release event that will only be available in theaters this fall.
Sunday, October 12
25 Cats From Qatar
Full disclosure: I’ve been working with Mye Hoang, the director of 25 Cats From Qatar (and her previous film Cat Daddies, a highly recommended documentary, available to watch on Tubi), to help bring this new film to as many people as possible. We’re currently in the middle of planning a 100-city tour!
I’ve already been to four different screenings, and every time it’s the same—audiences leave misty-eyed, talking about how much they loved the film, and immediately asking about merch. At the Milwaukee Film Festival, I ended up selling merch for 90 minutes straight after the screening.
Now it’s finally time for Chambana to experience it!
The synopsis: The nation of Qatar has a street cat population equal to the entire human population of the entire country – and is growing fast. Disease is rampant, and local adoption is rare. 25 Cats from Qatar follows one mission – led by a network of multinational underground animal rescuers in Doha and a Milwaukee flight attendant/cat cafe owner – to transport out 25 lucky felines and find homes for them abroad, all the while searching for a long-term solution to the crisis.
Sunday, October 19
We Can’t Say Yet!
We don’t know the film title just yet—but we can tell you that this screening is presented in collaboration with Sanford Hess, the former operator of The Art Theater and the curator behind The Art House Experience, a celebrated repertory series at The Virginia Theatre.
We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership. Sanford brings years of experience in film exhibition in Champaign-Urbana, and his involvement with the Chambana Film Society represents an important step in our growth. With a little luck, this will be the beginning of Sanford’s return to presenting regular monthly films in the area!
Sunday, October 26
Strange Journey: The Story Of Rocky Horror
This year marks the 50th (!) Anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While you should absolutely catch the original at The Virginia Theatre on Saturday, October 25th (complete with a shadow cast! — Tickets here), don’t stop there—come back the very next day for our screening of the brand-new documentary. It’s the perfect follow-up to a weekend of Time Warping.
From humble origins as a London fringe theater play to its meteoric rise, fall and resurrection as the biggest cult film of all time, this is the definitive story of the Rocky Horror Show. With intimate access to its creator Richard O’Brien and other major players such as Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Lou Adler, the documentary explores what makes the play and film so singular: Its groundbreaking and transgressive themes, iconic performances and epic songs that took over popular culture. The cult phenomenon that sprung around it is unparalleled, and created not only the midnight screenings which continue to this day, but also a safe haven for those who ever felt different or marginalized.
Friday, November 21
The Found Footage Festivals’ Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (Late Show With David Letterman) have over 14,000 VHS tapes in their cluttered office in Brooklyn and will take viewers on a guided tour of their latest/greatest finds in this brand new Volume 11 show for 2025.
Pickett and Prueher began collecting found videotapes in 1991 after stumbling across a training video entitled, “Inside and Outside Custodial Duties,” at a McDonald’s in their home state of Wisconsin. Since then, they have compiled the world’s largest collection of strange, outrageous and profoundly stupid videos.
Highlights for Volume 11 include a psychotic dollar store salesman, a video catalog of frightening porcelain dolls, two wonderfully homemade Bigfoot videos and a new age “miracle” treatment from the 80s called “Psychic Surgery.” (90 mins – contains nudity, language, clowns).
The FFF has been to the CU region a couple of times in the 2010’s, including a reportedly sold out show. The CFS is VERY excited to be bringing them back to town. If you’d like to learn more about Joe & Nick, I highly recommend watching Chop & Steele. Also, you might want to check out Winnebago Man.
