The 48th annual Big Muddy Film Festival began on March 19, and wrapped up on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The festival featured 72 films that spread across three different days. Seven awards were featured and designed by the Southern Illinois Metalsmiths society. 

The event was organized by doctoral student in Mass Communication and Media Arts Dajonea Robinson, whose parents drove up from Arkansas to see the festival. 

Mike Covell, a retired SIU professor who started the festival in 1979, was in attendance and has come to the event every year since then. Covell said he looks forward to it every year. 

Screenwriter and SIU alum Carl Ellsworth, who judged the weekend’s films, hosted a workshop on March 19, where he talked about his professional journey. 

In his early years, he worked as a screenwriter for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” But an episode he wrote a script for got him fired shortly after. 

R.J. Stewart, who helped develop “Zena: Warrior Princess” read his “Buffy” script and hired him for the show. 

“That’s essentially what helped me get into the doors,” Ellsworth said. “That’s essentially what helped me get into the doors,” Ellsworth said. 

Animator Jonni Pepper, who worked on an episode of “Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Season 2” was a juror for the festival and taught an interactive workshop on March 20. In her workshop, students got to work together to draw a mom and dad, create a conversation and bring the two together to create an animation. 

The festival crew start their planning by choosing a good date to have the festival, then looking at what a prescreening would look like. 

“Each of us go through and watch every single film,” senior and crew member Juno Heidbreder said. “We each either give it like a red box or a green box, depending on if we liked it or if we didn’t. Then, based off of everyone’s responses to those films, we kind of decide what we want in the festival.” 

While most of the festival feature films by filmmakers, they have a category called Saluki Shorts specifically meant for students. 

Student Diazha Berry, who directed “A Place Called Here” created the film for class. The film is “the product of us building a tool, so I shot this film on my cell phone through a thread counter. So just playing a little bit with perception of images,” Berry said. 

Many students of all years got to display their work Friday night. 

“I hope to see everyone out for year 49 and most importantly year 50,” Robinson said. 

The festival awarded seven filmmakers awards:

• Mike Covell Award: “Lake House” by Jared Treece
• The John Michaels Social Justice Award: “Teaching America” by Anurima Bhargava 
• The Cade Bursell River Award: “Free to Grow” by Jesse Andrew Clark
• The Best Animation Film Award: “Filkool” by Maral Forouzesh and Naser Rezaeiyan
• The Best Documentary Film Award: “Making Ice Cream” by Danyelle M Greene
• The Best Experimental Film Award: “My Shadow” by Astra Silver Burke
• The Best Narrative Award: Choy: “The Making of” by Maxwell Johnson

Digital Editor Peyton Cook can be reached at [email protected], or on Instagram at @cookmeavisual

Advertisement