Monthly mixer for filmmakers to meet up, talk movies, and find crew for their projects

Monthly mixer for filmmakers to meet up, talk movies, and find crew for their projects

Monthly mixer for filmmakers to meet up, talk movies, and find crew for their projects

The 2026 Savoy Lumiere features this collection of short films, including one locally produced film. The local short, "Slots of Life" is from writer/director Kevin Lau.

After life dealt her a bad hand, Carol spends her days in the last place she can find happiness: the video slots of her small-town pub. There's nothing more life can do for her, but that doesn't mean she can't do anything for herself.

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Monthly mixer for filmmakers to meet up, talk movies, and find crew for their projects

Central Illinois produced feature film screening as part of the 2026 Savoy Lumiere

In the quiet rural town of Clifton, Illinois, Sheriff Ira struggles to keep the peace in a community where nothing ever seems to happen—until two people vanish without a trace. As the town grows uneasy, a reclusive young woman named Sasha begins to draw suspicion. Living alone on the outskirts of town, she survives by selling handmade dolls and firewood, keeping mostly to herself while carrying the weight of a private grief.

When evidence suggests that Sasha may be harboring the missing man, Alex, in her basement, Ira becomes determined to uncover the truth. But the deeper he digs, the more complicated the mystery becomes. Sasha insists she isn’t a kidnapper or a killer—she claims she’s protecting Alex from something far worse. Torn between duty and doubt, Ira must decide whether he’s dealing with a dangerous criminal or a desperate woman trying to save someone she loves.

As the investigation unfolds over a tense series of nights, buried secrets, fractured memories, and old promises begin to surface. In a town where everyone believes they know their neighbors, Ira is forced to confront a chilling possibility: sometimes the line between monster and protector is not as clear as it seems.

When The Night Falls is directed by Clifton, Illinois native Andrew Lamping. The film was shot throughout the corridor between Champaign and Chicago, including locations in Kankakee and Clifton, using a locally based crew. The production team includes festival alumni Kal Kociss (Kal-Haven) and Kevin Lau (Slots of Life).

Director: Andrew Lamping
Writer: Andrew Lamping, Jeff Stolhand
Cast: Anthony Louis, Austin Parsons, Phoebe Jones
Producers: Blain Smith, Jeff Stolhand, Kevin Lau
Executive Producers: Andrew Lamping, Jim Polk
Cinematographer: Kal Kociss
Editor: Andrew Lamping, Jeff Stolhand
Composer: Stephen Douglass Bennett

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The Savoy Lumiere presents a collection of short films with local connections!

Quiet Tonight

Narrative • Horror/Drama • USA • 2026
19 Minutes

Donnie and Lydia discuss a an impossible dilemma while desperately trying not to wake the thing in the next room.

Director: Thomas Nicol
Writer: Mathew Green
Cast: Mathew Green, Kimmy Schofield, Clint Andrae
Producers: Thomas Nicol, Mathew Green, Nat Dykeman
Cinematographer: Kal Kociss
Editor: Thomas Nicol
Composer: Eric Watkins
 

Most Likely To Succeed

Narrative • Comedy • USA • 2024
15 Minutes

Allie finds herself languishing in her domestic life with a husband and two kids. She spends her days fantasizing about the exotic lifestyle of classmate turned influencer, Autumn. The two come face to face at their twenty-year reunion.

Director: Ty Hudson
Writer: Rachael Hudson
Cast: Rachael Hudson, Melissa Munds, Ty Hudson, Charleszette Tyson Roe
Producers: Ty Hudson, Rachael Hudson
Cinematographer: Domenico Grasso
Editor: Jonnie Stapleton

Nan

Narrative • Drama • USA • 2025
16 Minutes

It’s 1964, and when Nan’s husband skips town, she’s left with three daughters, no car, and no income. Determined to hold her family together and maintain the appearance of a perfect mother, she steps into the workforce for the first time—and she begins to find her voice.

Director: Lily Ellora Newton
Writer: Stevi Zabawa, Lily Ellora Newton
Cast: Heather Salm, Mason Wilson, Abby Briggs, Vera Zabawa, Audrey Carter, Kyle Dal Santo, Nathan Brandon Gaik
Producers: Stevi Zabawa
Cinematographer: Adam Sitton
Editor: Adam Sitton
Composer: Seth Boggess

Time Machine

Music Video • USA • 2025
4 Minutes

This music video for Charming Disaster’s “Time Machine”, is a cerebral sci-fi short that tells the story of a pair of time travelers who are torn apart by chance.

Director: Summer Purks
Producers: Katie Limentato
Cinematographer: Zolomon Zelko
Composer: Charming Disaster

Breaking Ice: The Making Of Cracks In The Ice

Documentary • USA • 2025
5 Minutes

Breaking Ice follows photographer Jason Lindsey as he creates his “Cracks in the Ice” series, prompted by his son’s question about what the world will look like due to climate change. Unable to give clear answers to a child who craves stability due to his medical history, Lindsey turns to art to explore this question.

Director: Jason Lindsey
Writer: Jason Lindsey
Producers: Talia Watkins
Cinematographer: Jason Lindsey
Editor: Jason Lindsey

Last Night In Urbana

Narrative • Thriller • USA • 2024
20 Minutes

Over the course of a rain-soaked night, private detective Andre Conrad unravels a series of confounding murders, uncovering a deadly menace stalking the streets of Urbana

Director: Aaron Anastos
Writer: Aaron Anastos
Cast: Zoë Van Krey, Daniel Cahill, Aiden Garland-Sutter, Michael Biedak
Cinematographer: Brandon Hood
Editor: Aaron Anastos, Will Mueller

Blink

Narrative • Drama • USA • 2025
16 Minutes

Liana confronts the haunting complexities of her marriage as memories unravel in a surreal loop, revealing the insidious influence of friends turned monsters, forcing her to stay entangled in an unhealthy relationship.

Director: Trude Namara
Writer: Trude Namara
Cast: Trude Namara, Keenan Dailey, Myles Valentine, Dominic Morgan
Producers: Kevin Lau, Keenan Dailey, Trude Namara
Cinematographer: Kal Kociss
Editor: Treyvon Spiva

Permanent Residence

Narrative • Thriller • USA • 2025
10 Minutes

An ordinary immigration interview. What could possibly go wrong?

Director: Bi An
Writer: Bi An
Cast: Mathew Green, Bi An
Producers: Thomas Nicol, Nat Dykeman
Cinematographer: Thomas Nicol
Editor: Bi An
Composer: Bi An

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Locally produced feature film Brim will screen in town once again as part of this year's Savoy Lumiere. 

Brim is a trans-generational drama that weaves together a family’s story across the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring racial trauma, resilience, and legacy. Set against the backdrop of segregation in the 1940s American South, the film follows Leroy Payne and Rosetta Bishop as they confront systemic oppression and the erasure of Black identity. As the narrative moves into the 1990s, it delves into the devastating impact of the 1994 Crime Bill, focusing on George Mitchell, a character wrestling with his role in the evolving landscape of race and privilege. Brim poignantly examines how historical and modern racial tensions intersect with personal identity, capturing love, loss, and the enduring strength of the Black community in the face of adversity.

Director Keenan Dailey and Writer Trude Namara are both University of Illinois alumni. Producer Kevin Lau is a Champaign native, and most of the cast and crew are from central Illinois. The film was entirely shot in Champaign and Piatt counties with the assistance of Flyover Film Studios & Shatterglass Studios.

Director: Keenan Dailey
Writer: Gertrude Namara
Cast: Diron Jones, Tisa Harriott, Derrica Kearney, Mathew Green
Producers: Paris “AJ” Adkins-Jackson, Keenan Dailey, Gertrude Namara, Kevin Lau

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