The Illini Union Board held this summer’s first weekly movie night on the Main Quad Thursday. The 2024 biographical film “Bob Marley: One Love” was projected on a large, inflatable screen on the north end of the Main Quad, just in front of the Illini Union.
Dozens of University students, faculty, staff and Champaign-Urbana residents attended the screening, setting up blankets and bringing cinema-style snacks. The Union Quad Shop was open until 10 p.m., selling an assortment of drinks, snacks and popcorn to attendees.
Before the movie began, Union staff handed out glow sticks and projected multiple slides on the screen, including a land acknowledgment, a viewer discretion warning, a list of this summer’s planned movies and various advertisements for the University’s resources and events.
The Marley biopic follows the Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter from his rise to fame in the mid-1970s until his death from cancer in 1981. The film depicts Marley’s attempt to unite Jamaica through music during a particularly violent time in the country’s history.
The IUB, which is the University’s event planning board, plans and organizes all the movie screenings. The board consists of 11 planning communities, which organize hundreds of student events annually.
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Junior in LAS and IUB President Abby Stiefvater discussed the movie screenings and the impact on the University community.
“The IUB has been doing this for a long, long time,” Stiefvater said. “It was especially a big thing during COVID-19 because of all the restrictions on events. This is a great opportunity to provide for students but keep them at a safe capacity.”
Regarding the benefits of the movie screenings for the students on campus during the summer, Stiefvater said that it allows people to get out of their apartments, relax and enjoy the night on the Main Quad.
Stiefvater also noted the difficulties of traveling to the movie theater from campus without having a car.
“It’s beautiful weather out,” Stiefvater said. “We get to show some movies that students don’t necessarily have the chance to see because it’s hard to get to the movie theater if you don’t have a car; you’d have to take a bunch of buses and all that.”
Stiefvater added that in order to determine the movie lineup, members of the IUB consult with film experts about the most popular recent movie releases and select a diverse range of genres to showcase for students.
This summer, the movie lineup includes action movies like “Dune: Part Two” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” as well as comedies like “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “IF.” Movies will be shown every Thursday at 9 p.m., with the final screening of the summer set on August 8.
