The Oscars aren't the only film awards March has in store for us.

Looking for something a little closer to home than L.A.? You're in luck, because plans are well underway for the 25th Big Muddy Film Festival, which will make its way to assorted local venues from Feb. 21 to March 2 this year.

From independent films from across the globe to a few classic Hollywood reels, organizers say this year's festival - which features 70 films culled from a field of about 235 entries, the most ever submitted - will have a little something for everyone.

"Big Muddy is unique because there aren't a lot of opportunities to get independent films here," said Andy Ramsey, the graphics coordinator on the Big Muddy committee. "It offers a diverse range of new films for people to see. It gives people the opportunity to see films from around the world."

This year's festival will include screenings at the Varsity Theatre, the Student Center, Longbranch Coffeehouse, Melange, the Interfaith Center, Life Science III, Gallery HQ, the Yellow Moon Café in Cobden and Mungo Jerry's in Murphysboro. Two Hollywood productions - John Singleton's "Boyz 'N The Hood" and Ridley Scott's "Alien," also celebrating its 25th year - will be featured in addition to independent entries.

This year's jurors include: Stephanie Black, a veteran of several films and television projects and director and producer of "H-2 Worker," an examination of Jamaican agricultural migrant workers in Florida that won best documentary and best cinematography honors at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, and director of the festival's film "Life and Debt"; Jim Trainor, an award-winning Chicago animator whose film "The Moschops" won acclaim at a past Big Muddy Festival; and Joe Berlinger, an acclaimed documentary director who made the films "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations" for HBO and the feature "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2."

"He's probably one of the biggest jurors we've had," Ramsey said.

The festival is primarily funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

Here's a short rundown of some of the films organizers have in store for this year:

˜ "Hell House," directed by George Ratliff. This documentary a haunted house outside of Dallas that serves as a pulpit for a modern-day fire and brimstone brimstone that leads its 13,000 yearly visitors through a maze of suicides, school massacres and abortions. ˜ ˜ "Maryam," directed by Ramin Serry. This film focuses on a young Iranian-American woman living in New Jersey in 1979 whose world is transformed when her fundamentalist Muslim comes to visit from Iran just before the American hostage scandal comes to light. The event forces Maryam to come to grips with her cultural roots. ˜ ˜ "ivan 'sxtc," directed by Bernard Rose. Ivan Beckman, a big-shot Hollywood producer, finds that when his drug addiction starts catching up with him and it is revealed that he is dying of lung cancer, the best response is to dive head-first into a self-destructive binge. ˜ ˜ "Gigantic: A Tale Of Two Johns," directed by A.J. Schnack. This film goes into the world of the Brooklyn-based musical duo that has become better known to the world as They Might Be Giants. Tracing the band from its humble beginnings to its current successes, the film reflects the mixture of absurdity and quality that has made the band a constant success. ˜ ˜ For more information about the Big Muddy Film Festival, check out next week's issue of the Pulse or cruise the web to www.bigmuddyfilm.com.