Tickets for all upcoming events are always available at our store: https://the-chambana-film-society.square.site/
Sunday, December 14
Song Sung Blue: The Original Documentary
”We’re doin’ pretty damn well for two people with a dream, man, I’m telling you.”Last year, for my 50th birthday, I assembled a list of my 50 favorite documentaries of all time, and while the list is alphabetical, I am pretty confident that Song Sung Blue is in actually in the top ten. Many others agree about the quality, including Slamdance Film Festival, where it won BOTH the jury and the audience awards, as well as winning top prizes at half a dozen other festivals.
Roger Ebert agreed, even though he only gave the film three out of four stars. I remember him mentioning that sometimes he felt the star rating wasn’t as important to
him as the review. In his review, where he says the film is “a superb marriage of home movies, TV, clippings and posters, and concert footage.”, compares the film to the beloved Hoop Dreams, and explains that no distributor is picking up the film, and he urges distributors to get a screener and pick it up. No distributor ever did, and it remains an overlooked great. (I just noticed that on Letterboxd it was 17 people who have ever logged having seen it — too few to get a star rating.) Roger chose it as the closing night film of the 2010 Ebertfest.
What’s the film about?
Song Sung Blue follows Mike & Claire Sardina of Milwaukee. Together, they perform as the tribute band Thunder & Lightning. Mike performs as Neil Diamond, and Claire performs mostly Patsy Cline songs in the film, although she also is known to perform ABBA and Blondie songs.
Why are you showing this film now?
Well, something is happening that’s only happened to one other of my favorite documentaries is happening to Song Sung Blue. It is now a narrative feature!
Hugh Jackman plays Mike Sardina, and Kate Hudson is playing Claire Sardina. The film, also called Song Sung Blue, comes out on Christmas Day, as is poised to be an Oscar contender.
Sunday, December 21
Locke
A Sanford Screening
Tom Hardy stars in this psychological drama whose narrative takes place entirely via phone conversations while Hardy is driving. He is the only character seen on screen. He converses with characters portrayed by Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Tom Holland and others.
Followed by a discussion with Sanford Hess & Chike Coleman
Sunday, December 28
Documentary Shorts
In 2024, we closed out the year with a collection of short documentaries which was well attended and well received, so we’re going to close out 2025 the same way.
Here is the current list of films showing. We may add one or two more:
We Were The Scenery – by Christopher Radcliff – 15 minutes
After fleeing Vietnam by boat in 1975, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che arrived in the Philippines and were cast as extras in Apocalypse Now.
The Sardine Roaster (El Amoragaor) – by Adrián Ordóñez – 14 minutes
Manuel Galindo, a man linked to sand, fire, sea and air, as the last sardine roaster. Raised on the beaches, Manuel was not initially destined to be a sardine roaster, but a family tragedy forced him to devote himself to this profession. Through the embers and the flavors he creates, he reveals stories of memory, identity and deep human connections on our coast.
Hometown Video – by Alex Rodgers – 4 minutes
A day in the life of one of the last video rental stores in America, located in Brookville, Indiana.
Still Sophie – by Caroline Knight – 7 minutes
Four and a half years ago, young talent Sophia Salveson’s life changed forever. Doctors said she may never walk again, may never talk again…may never perform again. They were wrong.
Dance Of The Bootlegger – by Adam Karp – 13 minutes
A down on his luck film projectionist becomes an underground dealer of Hollywood movies, until he finds himself in the crosshairs of the FBI and Motion Picture Association of America.
The Second-To-Last Time I Pooped My Pants – by Sébastien Landry – 3 minutes
On a sunny day, enjoying burgers and swimming seemed perfect for young Seb… until a dreadful stomach ache turned everything upside down.
My Memory Walls – by Axel Robin – 13 minutes
Rose G. Lévesque, an almost nonagenarian painter and poet, painted the story of her life on her house’s walls to transform it into a museum.
Zastava Brothers – by Pep Stojanovic – 22 minutes
Zastava Brothers is a documentary about the cars of former Yugoslavia and a group of immigrants now living in America who transcend their different backgrounds to form a bond over their love for those cars.
