Series

Inspiring Conversations

Inspiring Conversations (formerly Filmmaker to Filmmaker) brings together  film industry professionals, academics, critics, and other film experts for wide-ranging conversations on all manner of filmmaking, culture, and impact. Designed to "pull back the curtain" on the process of filmmaking and the maneuvers of film as a cultural product, this program is equal parts intellectual enlightenment and entertainment.

This program is generously funded by the Roberta and S. James Sherman Inspiring Conversations Fund. 

Spring 2026 Programs:

January 29, 7pm: Megalopolis | One of cinema's most revered directors bursts back onto the scene with—all hyperbole aside—something you've never seen before and may never see again. The *only* way to watch this is in a cinema!

February 5, 7pm: Megadoc (Midwest Premiere) | A raw, fly-on-the-wall documentary about Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-long journey in creating his self-financed passion project, Megalopolis. Followed by a post-screening conversation with Prof. Jeff Menne, Head of the Department of English and Professor of Screen Studies at Oklahoma State University. 

February 19, 7pm: Bad Hostage + The Rebel Girls | Two films that take alternative yet complimentary approaches to memory storytelling and historical perspective from three leading-edge filmmakers in Bloomington for the first time! Followed by a post-screening conversation between Bad Hostage director Mimi Wilcox and producer Max Asaf, The Rebel Girls director Felicia D. Henderson, and acclaimed documentarian Debra Tolchinsky.