As mentioned in previous posts, I am currently at Ebertfest in Champaign, Illinois.
Ebertfest is a fine little event that I first visited two years ago. Roger Ebert gathers a schedule of 12 films, a mixture of new and old, which he considers to be overlooked by the public. Many films are newer foreign releases that probably didn’t get a release in America’s heartland; there is usually at least one documentary that focuses upon Chicago; often something that was forgotten in the 1980′s shows up. These films are all screened at the Virginia Theatre in the heart of Champaign: a gorgeous, huge, balconied, lovingly-restored movie palace from a bygone era. Most films are capped by a Q&A from the filmmakers (or, in the case of documentaries, the subjects often turn up).
Ebertfest is a low-octane event compared to the other film festivals I do. The schedule is a relaxing three-films-per-day, in comparison to the 5-6 per day pace of Fantastic Fest or the punishing 24-hours-of-solid-film pace of Butt-Numb-a-Thon and B-Fest. While Champaign is a college town full of tasty little restaurants and brick-street charm, it certainly has a slower pace of life than Chicago or Austin or even Minneapolis. I missed attending Ebertfest last year, and I really missed its easy charm.
Another aspect that I missed is that, for the most part, 100% of Ebertfest films are at least good, if not great. With many other film festivals, you wind up seeing a lot of new stuff, and not all of it hits the mark. (Or, in the case of B-Fest, 100% of everything you see is awesomely terrible.) Ebertfest films are hand-picked by Mr. Ebert, and the man sure knows movies.
What hand-picked films did I see last night? Find out after the cut… Continue Reading →
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