Archive of 2010 EVFF Website:

Silent Film & Illinois

 

Current EVFF Homepage

Welcome to the Embarras Valley Film Festival (pronounced “Am-brah”) co-sponsored by Eastern Illinois University’s College of Arts & Humanities and the Coles County Arts Council. The EVFF is a yearly event honoring a person or theme relevant to the Embarras Valley, which encompasses much of East Central Illinois.Silent Film & Illinois

In 2010, The EVFF symposium will focus on early African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, with
presentations by EIU faculty and two performances by the southern Illinois band Stace England and the
Salt Kings.

 

 

Stace England & the
Salt Kings

Stace England & The Salt KingsBest known for the critically acclaimed Greetings From Cairo, Illinois, Stace England
lives near the village of Cobden in southern Illinois in a region known as "Little Egypt." Stace England & The Salt Kings now illuminate the legend of Oscar Micheaux. His astonishing story sounds like the stuff of myth and legend but it is all true. The first African American feature filmmaker was born in Metropolis, Illinois, homesteaded in South Dakota, published seven novels and wrote, produced and directed forty four films between 1919 and 1948. Audiences were stunned by his jaw dropping push backs to The Birth of a Nation leading many to ask, "just what impetuous planet was this man from, and how did he pull it off?"

Learn more about the band

watch clips on youtube

Archive

In 2004, the Gregg Toland Day Festival was held in Charleston. It provided the catalyst that became the EVFF. The link below provides information about past events and honorees.

Past Festivals

Stop-motion movies created at the 2009 workshop have been posted on YouTube. Click the link below to view them.

STOP-MOTION MOVIES