URBANA – The third annual C-U International Film Festival (CUIFF) brought film enthusiasts together to celebrate the art of filmmaking and diverse storytelling around the world.
The sold-out festival took place Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Spurlock Museum in Urbana. It received submissions from every continent except Antarctica. This year’s event featured films from the U.S., Brazil and Hungary.
Max Libman, founded CUIFF when he was in high school, and has continued to celebrate the art of filmmaking each year.
“I wanted to really inspire the next generation of filmmakers to tell stories,” said Libman, who’s now a freshman in business and cinematic arts at University of Southern California. “And I wanted to bring another event to the Champaign-Urbana community that would showcase films.”
He said the CUIFF team has expanded significantly since its formation. The festival now has an advisory board, a panel of judges and jurors and groups of volunteers who take photos and videos.
The festival receives film submissions of 30 minutes or less, which are first reviewed and ranked by a group of judges from a variety of age groups and backgrounds. The top-ranked films are then sent to a panel of jurors, who are industry experts, filmmakers and business leaders.
“I think what’s exciting is that each year we get amazing stories from amazing filmmakers,” Libman said. “They’re all so unique and have their own perspectives and backgrounds. And it’s really great seeing the content that gets submitted.”
The winner of this year’s festival is “Feeling Through,”a touching film from writer/director Doug Roland that explores humanity, empathy and the power of kindness between a homeless teenager and a deafblind man.
Sanford Hess, who has served as a judge for the past two years, said he loves that the film festival brings arts to the local community.
“It brings attention to our area that people are doing things with film in many ways,” Hess said. “There’s ongoing events throughout the year, both on the university and the local community with local filmmakers, and giving voice to that.”
The event started with a red-carpet gala and recorded speeches from the winners from the previous years: Julien and Justen Turner, who won in 2023, andWesley Wang, who won last year.
The evening continued with a screening of the following short films:
- “Somewhere in Between” by Kyle Vorbach: United States
- “Umbrella” by Helena Hilario and Mario Pece: Brazil
- “Sing” by Kristóf Deák: Hungary
- “Feeling Through” by Doug Roland: United States
Audience member Ferdaouss Moussamih, who recently moved to the U.S. from Morocco, said she came to meet people who appreciate the art of filmmaking.
“It’s just to share arts simply, and find people that have the same interests as you are and to celebrate films and celebrate cultures and diversity and all of that,” Moussamih said.
Libman said the group is already preparing for next year’s film festival. He encourages filmmakers to submit their work through the CUIFF website.
Illinois Student Newsroom’s Anna Koh contributed reporting.