Tickets for all upcoming events are always available at our store: https://the-chambana-film-society.square.site/
Sunday, January 11
Ain’t No Back To A Merry-Go-Round
A sit-in by Howard University students on a segregated carousel in Maryland sparks an unlikely Black-Jewish alliance, igniting national headlines and a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Following their act of defiance at Glen Echo Amusement Park in the summer of 1960, Black activists and descendants of Holocaust survivors marched side by side, picketing to confront discrimination. They faced arrests, violent counter-protesters, media scrutiny, and the American Nazi Party, drawing in congressmen and a Supreme Court challenge to the arrests. Vivid firsthand testimonies and historical footage contextualize the lasting impact of this transformative yet little-known moment—one of the nation’s first organized interracial protests in the fight for equality.
Sunday, January 25
The Champaign Movie Makers 2026 48-Hour Film Competition Screening
The Champaign Movie Makers holds a yearly filmmaking competition where teams of filmmakers have 48-hours to write, film, and edit a short film that incorporate certain prompts. On the following weekend, we’ll be showing the films created the previous weekend, and crowning a winner. Personally, I attended the last two of these, and found all of the films I saw to be pretty entertaining, so come on out! It’s FREE! Just hit the ticket link to reserve a spot.
Sunday, February 1
Moses The Black
So, this one is a little different from what we usually do here. If you pay attention to film news, you’ve probably heard of Moses The Black, the Chicago-set crime drama that filmed throughout September in the Champaign-Urbana area, headquartered at Flyover Film Studios. The film had a VERY quick turnout, and is opening on the weekend of February 1st, playing at both the AMC and the Savoy 16 + IMAX.
While we (The Chambana Film Society, Flyover Film Studios, and Experience CU) might have a couple of other events that weekend, we are highlighting our usual day and time (Sunday at 3pm) as a highlighted screening, where we will encourage as many people as possible that worked on the film to come see the film, and have a little talk about the production after the film.
Even though I haven’t seen the film yet, I’m always excited to highlight local filmmaking, and a lot of people I know worked on this one. One other thing that’s different: you’ve got to get your tickets directly from the theater itself.
Sunday, February 8
The Voice Of Hind Rajab
January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 6-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab.
This docudrama about that day uses real audio tapes of that day from Hind Rajab, and recreates the the drama and chaos of the people staffing the Red Crescent office on the other line. Before the World Premiere, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Jonathan Glazer, Alfonso Cuarón, and others signed on as Executive Producers. At its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival it received a record breaking 20+ minute standing ovation, and won The Grand Jury Prize, as well as six other awards. It also won the Jury Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, and is nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Film. It is Tunisia’s entry for the Academy Awards.
Like last year’s No Other Land, it seems to be a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination, yet no major distributor is interested in representing it. Don’t miss this chance to see it on a big screen!
4/4 stars from Marya E. Gates on RogerEbert.com
Brian Tallerico’s coverage at TIFF for RogerEbert.com
