Hi everyone and thanks for your enthusiasm and interest in the Illini Film Fest 2020 Streaming Event. The semester has been hard for everyone, our many student filmmakers included. As we continue to work out the details of the event, coming to you LIVE on May 2nd at 5pm, we thought we’d offer a few updates and some important information.

First of all, we are still accepting submissions and will continue until 11:59pm Friday night. Just scroll up to the top of the screen and click SUBMISSIONS. If you have issues or really need just a little extra time, send an email to knipp@illinois.edu. We will see what we can do to accommodate anyone who misses the deadline. But please be aware that we have a lot of programming ahead of us.

CONTENT: As always, we are looking for productions in every form or genre: comedy & drama, music & dance, video essays & documentaries, animation & experimental films. But this year we’re opening up submissions to different forms of creative expression to accommodate everyone, from budding directors to students with 90 free seconds and a smart phone.

HOME MOVIES: Send a message of hope, positivity, and re-connection to your classmates, classes, teachers and/or the student population at large. Use your smart phone, webcam, or any media tech you have accessible and tell us how you’re doing, what and who you miss from campus. You can keep it simple and direct or be wildly creative. Either way, we want to hear from you.

TIK TOKS: Throughout the escalating pandemic, celebrities and regular folks like you and me have been staying creative and upbeat with viral Tik Tok clips. These short bursts of creative energy are welcome and encouraged. Tik Tok videos will be screened throughout the program and we think you’ll be surprised, amused and delighted by what you see.

Audience awards will be given! A $100 gift card to the favorite short film; a $75 gift card to the most creative home movie; $50 to the favorite Tik Tok video.

Thanks for your patience, lovers of student filmmaking! The Illini Film Fest is happening soon. Send us your submissions and tune Saturday May 2nd. Stay healthy!