It’s been 17 years since Minnesota-born filmmakers Tommy Haines, JT Haines and Andrew Sherburne founded their independent production company, Northland Films, with a focus on nonfiction storytelling. In that time, they’ve produced, directed and released six film projects — all while Sherburne was busy founding and expanding Iowa City’s nonprofit cinema FilmScene. Their best-known documentary […]
FilmScene
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Stanley Museum of Art’s homecoming
In 2019, the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art was celebrating its 50th anniversary. It also had been nearly 11 years without a home. The floods of 2008, which wreaked havoc across Iowa, hit Cedar Rapids and Iowa City the hardest. The Cedar and Iowa Rivers crested at 31.12 ft and 31.5 ft, respectively, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
T.C. Boyle discusses and reads from his work; his writings have never been timelier
T.C. Boyle returns to Iowa City this week for a pair of events presented by the University of Iowa Center for Advancement and the UI Lecture Committee. First, tonight, May 4, those orgs join with FilmScene for a screening of The Road to Wellville, the 1994 film based on Boyle’s 1993 novel of the same […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Watch: Interview with Sara Terry, director of ‘A Decent Home’
The new documentary A Decent Home tells the story of mobile home park residents, including those in North Liberty’s Golfview, as they try to preserve their communities and their homes after the parks are bought by private equity funds and other investors determined to maximize profits at their expense. Ahead of its sold-out screening at […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with film editor and UI alum Erin Casper
Film editor and Iowa alum Erin Casper returns to Iowa City on Sunday to participate in the Vino Vérité series at FilmScene. She will be sharing the film Fire of Love, which recently won her the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at Sundance, and will be doing a Q&A with the audience. Woven together from dramatic […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Grab the VCR — Everything is Terrible returns to Iowa City on March 12 with a family-friendly show
Remember the Before Times of 2018? It was a nearly mask-less era, when friends, acquaintances and strangers alike came together to watch performances from out-of-towners or locals. It was during this time that Everything is Terrible, the California-based art collective, brought last their traveling show, The Great Satan Tour, to Iowa City. It is an […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
7 Oscar nominees that will (almost) restore your faith in the Academy
The Oscars are bullshit, right? Well, not entirely. After you get past the massive marketing campaigns, backroom handshake deals and the skewed demographics of the voting body of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, you’ll find there are some bright spots — and even some welcome surprises — within the final list of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Celebrate Black History Month in the CRANDIC
Happy February, readers! It’s time to begin celebrating Black History Month in the CRANDIC. Throughout the month, you’ll find numerous events to take part in as we celebrate Black culture and the achievements and legacies of Black Americans. Editor’s Pick: Visiting Writer: Danez Smith, Mt. Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, Monday, Feb. 21, Free In celebration […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Eastern Iowa authors, arts organizations awarded $90,000 in NEA grants
Artists and arts organizations across the U.S. received good news Tuesday, as $33.2 million in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) were announced. Five Iowa orgs and individuals were among the award recipients, receiving a total of $90,000 in grants. All five are located in eastern Iowa — two in Cedar Rapids, […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The 13th Iowa City Book Festival includes Bob Woodward, a celebration of Dostoevsky and more
Literature lovers should get ready to indulge in a week-long celebration of authors, readers and writing, as the 13th annual Iowa City Book Festival (ICBF) kicks off. This year’s festival runs from Monday, Oct. 18 to Sunday, Oct. 24, and unlike last year’s festival, which was entirely virtual because of the pandemic, it will have […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Top Story
FilmScene celebrates the reopening of its Ped Mall location
There’s always a bit of nostalgia inherent in film. No matter the subject matter, films are in some small (or, often, in-your-face) way about how we engage with how we record and examine and understand our collective or personal past. Movies both trigger memories and forge new ones. So it’s with several layers of nostalgia […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New documentary explores Storm Lake, Iowa and its intrepid family of journalists
Art Cullen’s storied career in journalism began when he was a young man stumbling his way through school. “I flunked accounting,” he said, “and realized the only requirement to get into the journalism program at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul was the ability to type 25 words per minute. It was 1975, […]
