Southern Illinois University Carbondale announced on March 9 that the Big Muddy Film Festival will return for its 48th year, running from March 19 to March 21 at The Varsity, located at 418 S. Illinois Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
The festival is recognized as one of the nation’s oldest university-affiliated film festivals and is known for showcasing documentaries that address social issues. This year, the festival will feature a total of 72 films, including experimental works, documentaries, narratives, student-made Saluki Shorts, animation pieces, and one feature film titled “American Dendrite,” a documentary by Adam Marshall Present released in 2025. Films submitted come from both local and international filmmakers.
Dajonea Robinson, a second-year doctoral student in mass communication and media arts who leads this year’s event for the second time, said: “We want our audience to feel connected and inspired by the creativity in our own backyard as well as internationally. Excellence comes out of Illinois. We want our community and our region to be part of this festival. The Big Muddy Film Festival is just as mine as it is yours.”
Special activities during the festival include workshops led by jurors Andrew Balek (post-producer), Carl Ellsworth (screenwriter), both alumni of SIU Carbondale, and animation filmmaker and poet Jonni Peppers-GoLions. Balek will host an editing workshop via Zoom on March 16; Ellsworth will hold a discussion and Q&A session on March 19 at The Varsity; Peppers-GoLions’ workshop takes place on March 20 in the Communications Building Dean’s Conference Room.
The award ceremony will be streamed live from The Varsity on Instagram and YouTube at 8:30 p.m. on March 21 with a reception following closing remarks. Official awards are hand-forged by the Southern Illinois Metalsmith Society (SIMS), a student-run group at SIU Carbondale. Awards will be presented in narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental categories.
Additional honors include the Mike Covell Award for alumni filmmakers; the John Michaels Social Justice Award honoring activism; and the Cade Bursell River Award recognizing films about environmental issues through innovative storytelling.
