EIU Media Relations

Annual Film Festival to Pay Tribute to Burl Ives

The second annual Embarras Valley Film Festival, featuring the films of Eastern Illinois University alumnus and Jasper County native Burl Ives, will take place Sept. 20 through 23 on the EIU campus and at the historic Will Rogers Theatre in downtown Charleston.

All programming will be free and open to the public.

The event kicks off with viewings of "Desire Under the Elms" ( 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20) and "East of Eden" ( 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21) at EIU's Tarble Arts Center.

Then, on Friday, Sept. 22, the Tarble will host the conference, "Burl Ives and American Film of the 1950s," exploring Ives as a person, a musician and an actor. Special guest speakers will include Jennifer Cutting and Steve Winick, both from the Library of Congress. Cutting will share music that can only be heard at the Folklife Archives in Washington, D.C.

The award-winning Airtight Band will perform following Cutting's and Winick's evening presentations.

"The Big Country" (introduced by Chuck Koplinski of The Hub and Illinois Times) and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (introduced by Dann Gire of the Chicago Film Critics' Association) will be shown Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Will Rogers Theatre, 705 Monroe Ave. Ives was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1958 for his role in "The Big Country," but is perhaps best known for his portrayal of "Big Daddy" in the 1958 classic, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

Accompanying the films and conference will be exhibits at EIU's Booth Library and the Tarble Arts Center . In addition, an Ives documentary will be produced after the festival.

The Embarras Valley Film Festival is funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; The Jaenike Access to the Arts Fund; The Charleston Area Charitable Foundation; EIU's College of Arts and Humanities and the Coles County Arts Council.

For information, call (217) 549-2876.