Issue #1 - March 2026  --   Bell, Book & Camera Productions Who Were The Ingenues? A chance discovery of a Rolling Stones record bearing the name Ginny Zender led to an unexpected friendship—and the forgotten story of the Jazz Age band known as The Ingenues. Ginny & Juel is ultimately a film about The Ingenues , one of the most famous “all-girl” bands of the 1920s. But to understand the band, you need to understand the era. The word ingenues was ubiquitous in the 1920s and used to describe alluring yet innocent young women. After all, the 1920s was the Jazz Age, and young women enjoyed newfound freedoms – freedoms that were not known by their mothers or grandmothers. On stage and on screen, the ingenue became a popular trope that captivated audiences. Hollywood stars like Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, and Colleen Moore embodied the type, while the flapper became the cultural symbol of a generation of women embracing new freedoms. Riding on the popularity of this idea...

Say My Name wrapped up its festival run in January. After picking up some nominations and a couple of awards, we are actively pursuing leads for finding a second life for the film. In the meantime, we updated the trailer and -- hopefully -- Say My Name will come to a streaming channel near you! Serial killer Mason Oliver Reed thought his final victim was silenced—until she returns. Wreathed in smoke and molten wounds, she stalks him through the shadows, a demonic doll at her side, whispering one command: “Say my name.” We also added some new artwork as well:

Back in 2005, when I was filming the documentary Facing Sudan , I flew to Philadelphia, rented a car, and drove to the New Jersey office of pediatrician Dr. Jerry Ehrlich. We had spoken only on the phone after I had found an article about his work in Darfur with Doctors Without Borders and he enthusiastically agreed to an interview. His office was small, covered in children’s drawings, notes and letters. A small man himself, with a slight haunch when he stood, Dr. Jerry was a giant of a human being. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect or even confident in what I was doing. Yet, in a matter of minutes — seconds perhaps — he put me at ease.   We set up in his office — the wood paneling the same as it had been when he opened his practice decades earlier, I imagine -- now with a spot made bare by the endless rubbing of his office chair against the wall. There was little room for the camera or the lights, but we made it work.  And Dr. Jerry told his story. Empathy, comp...

Cary, IL — January 23, 2026 —A Chicago-area high school librarian is using a new episode of his father–son podcast to explore the city’s beloved amusement parks — and to confront a disturbing piece of history that many have forgotten. Hersey High School librarian Bruce Janu has released Episode 17 of Songs in the Key of Dave , a storytelling and music podcast created from weekly conversations with his father, Dave, who grew up in Chicago. The episode centers on amusement parks – first Disney, of course, but then classic Chicago-area attractions such as Riverview Park, Kiddieland, and Santa’s Village — places that loomed large in mid-century childhood memories. As with previous episodes, the conversation begins with nostalgia: family outings to Disney World shortly after it opened, and Kiddieland, Santa’s Village and Riverview. The podcast explores the sense of wonder those parks created for generations of Chicagoans. But this episode takes a deeper turn when Bruce learns, during the r...

Cary, IL — December 1, 2025 — A Chicago-area educator and filmmaker has teamed up with his father in Florida to create a growing podcast that blends family storytelling, history, and music in a uniquely intimate way. With the release of its tenth episode, Songs in the Key of Dave continues to deepen a creative exchange that spans 1,200 miles. Created by Hersey High School Librarian Bruce Janu and his father, Dave, who lives in Florida, the show emerged from an ordinary weekly tradition: every Tuesday night, the two pour a drink, get on a virtual call, and talk — about cars, childhood memories, family history, and the music that shaped their lives. Those conversations eventually became the backbone of a fully produced podcast. Dave grew up in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood before eventually moving to Mt. Prospect, where Bruce was raised, and many of the podcast’s stories focus on life in Old Town and the northwest suburbs.   Bruce’s professional work makes the project feel esp...

Woodstock, IL – The locally produced horror short Say My Name heads to the Chicago Horror Film Festival next month.  With over 222 films screening over the three-day fest at the historic Logan Theater, The Chicago Horror Film Festival is now considered to be the largest in the world for the horror genre. This chilling tale of vengeance and justice brings together the talents of Maria Puga, a Woodstock resident; Bruce David Janu, a Cary filmmaker and longtime educator; and Andrew Zilch, an emerging cinematographer and 2022 graduate of Cary-Grove High School. Written and directed by Janu, Say My Name follows a serial killer haunted by the horrifying return of one of his victims. She appears with her glowing, lava-like wounds and fiery eyes.  She carries a demonic doll with a chilling laugh, and has only one request: “say my name.”  “Say My Name is more than a horror film. It is a story about a ghost, for sure,”  said Janu, who plays serial killer Mason Oliver Reed. “...

  ****  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  **** LOCAL TALENT BRINGS VENGEANCE TO THE SCREEN IN CHILLING SHORT FILM, SAY MY NAME Woodstock, IL – The haunting short film Say My Name has completed production and is making its way to film festivals worldwide. This chilling tale of vengeance and justice showcases the collaborative talents of Maria Puga, a Woodstock resident, and Bruce David Janu, an educator with over 30 years of experience teaching social science and is the current librarian at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. Written and directed by Janu, Say My Name follows a serial killer haunted by the horrifying return of one of his victims. She appears with her glowing, lava-like wounds and fiery eyes.  She carries a demonic doll with a chilling laugh, and has only one request: “say my name.”  “Say My Name i s more than a horror film. It is a story about a ghost, for sure,”  said Janu. “But it is also about how justice can be as terrifying as the crim...