Big Muddy Film Festival returns next week National, international films to play at venues across Carbondale

The Big Muddy Film Festival is once again set to bring some of the best of independent international and national films to the region later this month.

The SIU festival, which enters its 41st year as one of the older film festivals affiliated with a university in the nation, will feature 98 films in four categories: animation, documentary, experimental and narrative.

Deborah Tudor, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, emphasizes the film festival is a gem for students and the community.

"This year, we are continuing the tradition of bringing global films and exciting filmmakers to SIU and Carbondale," she said. "The festival allows us to introduce our students to filmmakers working across the media industry."

The Varsity Center for the Arts serves as the festival's central location this year, featuring screenings nearly every evening, including the gala opening Feb. 18 and closing event Feb. 24.

Once again, admission to all festival events is free thanks to the generosity of several local businesses, said Sarah Lewison, an associate professor in the Radio, Television, and Digital Media degree program who is faculty adviser and executive director.

"We didn't want to exclude students from the chance to see independent films from around the country and the world because of cost," Lewison said. "Times have been hard, and the Big Muddy Crew has been working hard getting generous underwriting from local businesses."

The complete festival schedule is available on the website.

The venues include:

Varsity Center for the Arts, 418 S. Illinois Ave.

SIU Carbondale Morris Library John C. Guyon Auditorium.

Carbondale Community Arts, 304 W. Walnut St.

Cristaudo's, 209 S. Illinois Ave.

Flyover Infoshop, 214 N. Washington St.

Global Gourmet, 102 E. Jackson St.

Hangar 9, 511 S. Illinois Ave.

WDBX Radio, 224 N. Washington, St.

The opening reception is from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18, at The Varsity Center for the Arts. A special attraction of Saturday morning cartoons will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon Feb. 24 at Artspace 304.

The closing reception and "Best of the Fest Showcase" will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at The Varsity Center.

The closing program features films authored by local young people who participated in a scriptwriting workshop at Carbondale Community Arts. The Big Muddy Crew has produced these youth written stories to present at the final program of the festival, as a way of cultivating excitement for a new generation of independent filmmakers.