Reel foreign

Seven international films screen in Springfield

Springfield area cinephiles benefit as the Route 66 Film Festival and the Springfield Art Association’s Film Series grow in size and quality. The 2009 Route 66 Fest, held last September, tripled

An independent obsession

The behind-the-scenes process that brings foreign and indie films to town

Molly Schlich knows movies. She has organized the Springfield Art Association’s annual film festival for the past 18 years. The event, she says, was started not as a fundraiser, but as a way to

Q&A with Goodbye Solo director Ramin Bahrani

2009 was a good year for director Ramin Bahrani. The 34-year-old was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and watched as critics continued to laud Chop Shop (2007) and Goodbye Solo (2008). Not

This Life Ain’t Pretty

Locally produced short film debuts at UIS

Statistics are often hard to remember. We might forget that 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS or that the global total is more than 30 million. We might not know that 25 percent of them d

Everybody’s weird at The Rocky Horror Show

I admit that I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show a few times growing up, mostly to learn the dance steps to the Time Warp to fit in at the high school Halloween Dance…

Muni’s Fiddler another solid production

For fans of live theater in Springfield, attending The Muni’s new production of Fiddler on the Roof is a bit like seeing the James Bond movie Casino Royale — we’ve heard t

Korean War National Museum comes to downtown Springfield

Temporary exhibit and gift shop open in anticipation of permanent site

Springfield resident Larry Benson served in the Korean War, working first as a radarman and then for a chaplain. Last Friday, Benson joined dozens of other veterans from central Illinois

Oliver! overcomes slow start

Talented cast and crew get Muni season underway

Cast members from the organization’s three upcoming shows cheered wildly as Muni President Flynn Hanners mentioned them in his opening night remarks last Friday. As Hanners spoke, th

Ride the rails to Alton

For affordable day-trips to Alton and St. Louis, take the train

Passenger rail may have seen its heyday come and go, but 21,000 miles of train track still crisscross America. Ten of Amtrak’s routes wind through Illinois and can connect those look

When losing is good

How one couple’s life changed after they decided to “Lose Big”

Angie Griffin never considered herself obese, but when her Body Mass Index revealed she fell into that category, she knew something had to change. Together with her husband, Derek, Angie