Local filmmakers bring Central Illinois to movie screens

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — Central Illinois is working towards its Hollywood moment.

One Danville filmmaker is ready to share his movie that features local actors and locations. He said they created this film independently and the mission was to keep it within the community.

Chris Hightower is the co-producer and lead actor of the movie “Irresponsibull.” It’s about a grown man trying to show his girlfriend that he can be responsible by babysitting her niece and nephew.

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They recorded in different areas like downtown Champaign, West Side Park and other locations. Nearly a year ago in Rantoul, organizers like Dustin Hoke wanted to bring in more filmmaking to the community.

“This industry hasn’t really existed here at the level that we need it to,” Hoke said. “I want to work in this industry for the rest of my life.”

Hoke is one of the co-founders for Flyover Film Studios. It gives filmmakers a space to produce documentaries, music videos, movies and more. Since the start, they’ve had more than four films created with the help of the company.

Their plan is to keep things local.

“We’re trying to raise up this entire industry so that folks can work in this industry. Here, we don’t have to go to Chicago, L.A., Georgia,” Hoke said.

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Hoke isn’t the only one who feels this way. Hightower and his team are on the same page with working with surrounding organizations for the cause.

“It’s something that we wanted to be able to to share with our community and keep it in our community,” Hightower said.

You can watch his movie for free on the streaming service, Tubi.

Meanwhile, Experience Champaign-Urbana is making progress on their film location database. A spokesperson said they have a total of 49 locations and have partnered with two productions. On Aug. 29, they’ll be hosting an artist workshop at the Champaign Public Library with Flyover Film Studios.

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