ACADEMIC PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Thursday, April 26, 2007
9:30 am – 10:30am
The Role of the Film Critic in Contemporary Distribution Practices
Moderated by Nate Kohn
Pine Lounge, 1st Floor

Friday, April 27, 2007
9:00 am – 10:00 am
Politics in Movies, Movies in Politics
Moderated by Eric Pierson
Pine Lounge, 1st Floor

Saturday, April 28, 2007
9:00 am - 11:30 am 
Bringin' It All Back Home: The Principles of Independent Filmmaking
Presented by Michael Wiese
General Lounge, 2nd Floor

Saturday, April 28, 2007
9:00 am - 11:30 am
Come see how students are impacting the film industry for Champaign County
High Tech Edge Program
Pine Lounge, 1st. Floor

MINI-SEMINAR 
Saturday, April 28, 2007
9:00 am - 11:30 am
Bringin' It All Back Home: The Principles of Independent Filmmaking
Presented by Michael Wiese
General Lounge, 2nd Floor

In a lively and humorous style, Champaign-born filmmaker Michael Wiese will share his experiences of independent filmmaking, embellished with film clips from "Hardware Wars" ("Star Wars" parody), "Dolphin", "Field of Fish", "Sacred Sites of the Dalai Lamas," and his upcoming feature, "Bali Brothers."

Wiese attended Uni High and was a cub photographer for the News Gazette during the "Ebert years".  He has 35 years’ experience as a producer, director, author and publisher.  Wiese currently lives in England where he oversees Michael Wiese Productions (www.mwp.com), with offices in Los Angeles and Seattle, from his "international headquarters" (a wooden shed on the Cornish cliffs).  Besides making the occasional film, the company publishes a line of nearly 100 books on filmmaking which are used by professionals and students in over 600 film courses around the world.

The seminar samples a life's work and will reveal the principles of making independent films.