At the closing ceremony, the first major award, Best Screenplay, went to Coralie Fargeat for her audacious and outrageous body horror film “The Substance”. The film starred Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley and dealt with themes of society considering women over the hill at age 50, and a mysterious substance that could keep them looking … Read more
Chaz Ebert Chaz is the CEO of several Ebert enterprises, including the President of The Ebert Company Ltd, and of Ebert Digital LLC, Publisher of RogerEbert.com, President of Ebert Productions and Chairman of the Board of The Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation, and Co-Founder and Producer of Ebertfest, the film festival now in its 24th … Read more
Chaz Ebert Chaz is the CEO of several Ebert enterprises, including the President of The Ebert Company Ltd, and of Ebert Digital LLC, Publisher of RogerEbert.com, President of Ebert Productions and Chairman of the Board of The Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation, and Co-Founder and Producer of Ebertfest, the film festival now in its 24th … Read more
DARRIEN MICHELE GIPSON Darrien Michele Gipson is the Executive Director of SAGindie. Darrien leads a team that is responsible for independent filmmaker outreach and specializes in teaching low budget producing, focusing on the process for hiring professional actors via SAG-AFTRA’s low budget contracts. She is a frequent interviewer, moderator, and speaker on panels and production … Read more
The poster image for this year’s festival is based on a scene from Rhapsody in August by director Akira Kurosawa and it seems to be reflected in the cool, cloudy climate we’ve been experiencing thus far. But this year’s jury received a very warm reception at their initial press conference. Led by jury president, Greta … Read more
You make an important point in your discussion of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that forgiveness is not only a spiritual obligation but in the most practical sense “political expediency.” Many people might think that because an act helps to achieve a political goal it is somehow less “pure.” What do you think? Yes, that’s a good … Read more
All throughout the year, we were fortunate to have incisive film reviews and opinion pieces from so many whose names are too numerous to mention, but they include: Brian Tallerico, Matt Zoller Seitz, Matt Fagerholm, Nell Minow, Robert Daniels, Marya E. Gates, Isaac Feldberg, Sheila O’Malley, Glenn Kenny, Christie Lemire, Tomris Laffly, Godfrey Cheshire, Clint Worthington, Simon Abrams, Carlos Aguilar, Nandini … Read more
“Origin” Ava DuVernay’s astonishing adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s essential novel, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, stars the amazing Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the author who links the injustices made throughout human history by illuminating the unspoken system of caste that fuels them 2. REAL LIFE HEROES “Rustin” No list of this year’s Oscar contenders is complete without Colman … Read more
8. FACING REALITY “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie” I was apprehensive about seeing Davis Guggenheim’s documentary “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” because frankly I was wondering whether it would be painful taking me back to the challenges we faced with my late husband Roger’s illness. Fortunately, I am happy to report that it … Read more
“I cannot believe that it was almost 25 years ago that Roger and I started the Roger Ebert Film Festival at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana,” said Ebert. “And I am pleased to be installed as an Honorary Alumnus. Over these years our mission of encouraging empathy through the movies has grown to include … Read more